#is when the universe became like a small town for the doctor in which he has seen everything and gone everywhere

[sophiamarieispinkbunny-chan]

THEORY: Sigmund Authen, Anya Forger, Yor Briar and Yuri Briar are all connected to Project Apple.

How is Sigmund connected? He was one of the scientists that worked on Project Apple way before or when it just started

First of all, his appearance is giving Albert Einstein to me, a famous scientist and as well his expression of Eureka-an expression popularized by a mathematician/scientist. He also used to teach in universities.

There are a lot of other abilities being developed in project Apple. We have seen someone who has an unusual sense of smell in the cruise arc (I really think he was a product of some experiment). But I think Sigmund is a scientist that focuses on the mind's abilities. Why?

His name was probably derived from the famous neurologist Sigmund Freud. What does a neurologist do?  A neurologist is a medical doctor who's an expert in diagnosing and treating diseases and conditions of your brain, spinal cord and nerves. Sigmund is also the founder of psychoanalysis-which also studies the mind. Always connected to the brain. So he must be also the one who first conducted experiments in mind manipulation and mind reading.

Does this mean that Sigmund knows that Anya is a subject of that experiment? No, because he had probably already quit project Apple before Anya was brought in as subject 007 or before she even existed. It won’t fit the timeline if he was one of the scientists that experimented on Anya. (I also think that Anya’s number does not indicate the number of people that have been experimented on but the number of subjects that became successful, still just a speculation)

However, it seems like he doesn’t remember much about the experiment, (he doesn’t even remember the right way home). When he quit, maybe he cut all ties he had with the project, realizing how mean and cruel it was. He forgot about it like he was never part of it in the first place.

And then right after this chapter, Endo gave us that jaw dropping and mind-boggling four page short chapter that started to plague our minds since, indicating we were about to tackle Anya’s past. So I may have to agree that Sigmund could be Anya’s trigger to remember the past.

But how did Yor and Yuri got involved in Project Apple?

Yor and Yuri were once subjects of project Apple, the first successful ones. Where do we think Yor’s incredible strength came from? How about Yuri’s intelligence and resilience even though hit by a car or lost a lot of blood? I know, as the major genre is comedy, some of the scenes are exaggerated. But when it comes to Yor and Yuri, the difference they possess regarding their abilities was always highlighted.

Like also, let’s think about it. The name of the experiment is Project Apple. What is Yor’s favorite flavor or food? Apple. What was the name of the assassin team she belongs to? Garden (Which is tied to Eden and of the forbidden Apple fruit but Eden’s connection with Garden and Project Apple will be dealt in another time)

How about Yuri? Well, the SS is the one monitoring him. He was the youngest among the SS. The reason they hired him, Oh he was cute right? Said the man who recruited him. Yeah cute alright. They just knew how invincible he was physically because of the experiment.

Ostania, through Garden and SS  is making sure that the Briar siblings remain at their fingertips, doing their purpose, using the skills the project had given them for Ostania’s advantage.

Maybe that’s the reason why their parents got killed. They died in an attempt to protect and hide them. I noticed that their house seems to be far from modern civilization, more like a small province not like a city that is crowded, compared to Loid’s town in Luwen.

In addition, maybe that is why Endo made Yor and Anya to be the one who met Sigmund in Chapter 90. Because the three of them are bound by the same thing-Project Apple.

[official-romania-account]

hey ignore this if it's rude but i don't really know where else to ask. i'm a romanian citizen who doesn't speak the language so finding articles about the elections that i can understand is hard, if you know anything would you mind explaining or summarizing it? i know this is a lot to ask, sorry if i imposed

Hello! This is not rude at all and I'm glad you reached out. I can explain about the presidential elections and the parliamentary elections quite a lot. You're not being rude at all, something like this takes effort. Once again, I'm glad you reached out.

A. The Presidential Elections

This election will be in two parts. The first part will have all candidates, who I will talk about. This will take place this weekend, on Sunday, 24th November.

The second part has only the first two candidates, meaning the ones who gathered most votes, from the first part. This will take place on 8th December.

The candidates, who I've put in the order they will be on the ballot

1. Elena Lasconi

This lady is supported by a democratic party. She is 52 years old and she was a journalist for 25 years, during which she took on social articles and causes. In 2020, she left journalism for politics and she became a mayor of a small town.

She has progresssive views, even if she isn't very experienced in politics, but she could give us, as a country, time to get better and have less thiefs and less corruption. She is a good choice, even if she has been dragged through Hell by journalists.

2. George Simion

This man is supported by a nationalist party. He is 38 years old and he was (and still is) an activist for the unification of Romania with the Moldavian Republic. In 2019, he made the AUR party, which he rules.

He's quite the extremist. He wants to bring back the traditional family, saying that a woman has no rights, he wants to kill the hungarians that live in Romania and he has instigated violence and hate. He's been banned from Ukraine and the Moldavian Republic because of his hateful instigations. Quite the controversial man.

3. Marcel Ciolacu

This man is supported by a socialist party. He is 56 years old and he missed the entrance exam to the Law university. His party is mainly supported by old people who are nostalgic and miss the communist times. He doesn't even speak romanian correctly. He should know about politics, given that he's been in the domain for at least 10 years.

He has socialist views and slips a lot when talking. He didn't really show up for some important debates, unlike Lasconi or other candidates. I don't really know what to say about him other than that he hasn't even finished all 12 grades of school.

4. Nicolae Ciucă

This man is supported by a liberal party (although the party had an alliance with Marcel Ciolacu's socialist party for QUITE some time). He is 57 years old, a military general that promised to not get into politics after retiring. Guess what. He's been in politics for 5 years now. He has an autobiography. He was accused of plagiarism on his doctoral thesis.

His views might depend on what's good for him and I think he might lie about some things. Again, I don't really know what to say about him other than I believe that he would be easy to corrupt.

5. Hunor Kelemen

This man is supported by a democratic party that mainly sipports hungarians. He is hungarian himself, 57 years old and he used to be a veterinary doctor, who studied philosophy. He has 2 poem books and a literature book published. He lies quite a bit about why he candidates, saying that he wants to do justice in the country, when in reality, all he wants is to give his party a way to get into the government and senate.

All I can say about him is that he doesn't really have chances of getting into the second part of the presidential election.

6. Mircea Geoană

This man is not affiliated with any party. He is 66 years old and studied engineering and was an engineer for a short while. There are rumours that he had contact with russians and that he was a spy for the romanian secret services.

He has democratic views, but he doesn't really have chances, due to his old age, affiliation with the russian services and the fact that he isn't supported by any party.

I will add more aboit the elections, but I am in a rush right now. I will complete this in a few hours.

However, I will give you a link to all the candidates and their presentations. It is in romanian, but you can use Google Translate to translate it in your language. I promise I will finish talking about this, but I really have to get somewhere.

Hope this helps. My best bet is Elena Lasconi.

[kellycataclysm]

time for some headcanons hihihi

sfw: p, s, x

nsfw: d, k, u

Hello my dear friend! Such good letters! This is long, so settle in. Let's go!! SFW first!

Patience - Lyra is quicker to anger than Harvey, usually starting to cry, everything bubbling over as she tries to think carefully about what she wants to say before things spill over. Harvey tends to internalise things, becoming quieter, avoiding confrontation, smouldering emotions burning on the inside. When things do catch, he will speak quietly but sharply, his words like pointed barbs, because for him to have reached the point where his emotions rush out like wildfire, it must have been bad. However, as we saw in the long fic, when it becomes harder to say what you really feel, not knowing how to take that step, both of them retreat into themselves, keeping their cards close to their chest. 

In terms of patience generally, Harvey is very patient. He has to be when dealing with his patients. He is extremely patient with children, knowing that he can be a little intimidating as both a doctor and being as tall as he is. He always speaks with a polite and gentle tone of voice, one of the things Lyra absolutely loves about him. Lyra is a quiet and strong spirit, although she would not think she has any strength at all. She is a good listener and values being there for those she cares about. Harvey absolutely loves this quiet charm. 

Security - Both Lyra and Harvey came into their friendship with broken hearts and took slow tentative steps into a romantic relationship. Such was their desire to protect themselves and each other. By the long fic, they really didn’t mean to hurt each other as much as they did. Very likely they will never forgive themselves for the damage they caused to the person they love the most. 

Their height difference (Harvey is 6’4, Lyra is 5’3) means the protective aspect manifests in physical form. Harvey loves that she is small and she is all his. Lyra absolutely melts at how tall he is, feeling so safe in his arms, in her ‘Harvey Cocoon’. When they are in each other’s arms, they are home, the safest place they can be. And this absolute need for physical touch and to feel so utterly enveloped by the other also shows when Lyra wears Harvey’s shirts and he loves to see her in them. 

This protective instinct also extends to their daughter, always holding hands, wrapping her up. Although she was unplanned, they are so totally devoted to her and love it when she sneaks into their bed in the early hours of the morning, holding her close so she can dream pleasant dreams.

Xtra -  Lyra’s Harvey is very smart. He can play chess extremely well, but is also a fantastic pool player, something which has surprised the residents of Pelican Town on occasion.

Lyra became intrigued by astronomy while working at the university. Her partner before Harvey, Dr Charles Webster, was an academic, a physicist. Her favourite astronomical object is the Orion Nebula. She has three stars tattooed on her wrist, like the belt in the Orion constellation.

Now for the NSFW answers...

Dirty Secret - It is an obvious secret that these two have fucked in his office, fooled around at the Saloon, had a steamy session at the Spa, so here’s something new.

Lyra’s dirty secret is that she was once a lingerie model. Literally just one time. When she was in college, she helped out a friend, a photography student who was building a portfolio to begin looking for freelance work. After a drunken night at the bar, she promised that she would model for a lingerie shoot. When the day came, she was understandably anxious, but she trusted her friend to look after her. So, somewhere out there, are a set of photos of Lyra in her early 20s, reclining on a bed, wearing emerald green lingerie. It is most likely that from this experience stemmed her penchant for beautiful underwear, something that makes Harvey feel particularly spoiled. If he got his hands on those photos, he would possibly disintegrate.

Harvey’s dirty secret links, in a slightly embarrassing way, to his desire to become a pilot. His father is a commercial airline pilot and so Harvey spent plenty of time around airports, cabin crew, other airline staff. During his college years, he began a clandestine relationship with a very pretty cabin crew member. She seduced him when she flew into town and they spent a couple of days in her hotel room. He saw her occasionally between her trips around the country. Eventually each of them moved on. Harvey doesn’t tell anyone about this as he is a little embarrassed as to what people would think, linking his desire to become a pilot to his horny college years. Lyra knows about the relationship and has on occasion offered to dress up for him. At this teasing, he becomes embarrassed, flustered, intrigued. Maybe one day she will get her wish. 

Kink - Apart from both having very obvious praise kinks, they are extremely compatible. They both enjoy using restraints from time to time. Lyra loves the thrill of sex in a public/ semi-public place and has definitely convinced Harvey to take this risk too. She also enjoys a playful spank occasionally. Harvey loves to leave marks on her body, a little possessiveness coming through occasionally. (Shhhh… before long don’t be surprised if a little breeding kink starts to come through in the two of them.) 

Unfair - Both of them are absolute teases, loving to see the other one flustered and begging. They both know the subtle flirtatious touches that catch the other’s attention and drive them wild. Lyra will show off those freckly shoulders, the soft skin of her back and all he wants to do is touch her. She’ll keep herself just at arms length, a glance with those pretty blue eyes that tells him she is going to devour him… or wants to be devoured. Harvey will tease her with the little things that he knows she loves. Use his authoritative voice, roll up his sleeves, show a little of that chest hair.

In the bedroom, he loves to tease her, taking his sweet time with his mouth, his tongue, his fingers, a toy, until she is a quivering mess begging for release. Lyra loves to tease him by not letting him touch her, or moving slowly, building him up, not quite giving enough, until he is hanging by a thread, restraint about to break, ready to fuck her senseless. Because that is exactly what she wants him to do.

Thank you so much for these asks! They were so much fun to write!

[simandthedimbulbv2-0]

the lifetime achievement award duo???? thank you

Okedoke

Dr. Herbert E. Lipzditsch & Maxine Jichael

Lore: Dr. Lipzditsch used to be a famed plastic surgeon, but he disappeared out of the blue one day for unknown reasons. Rumours swirled about the incident — there had been an accident — Lipzditsch lost his medical license — the mafia, or aliens were involved— but progress was never made towards finding the truth, and eventually the whole thing blew over. Meanwhile, Dr. Lipzditsch was far away, starting a new life and a new career as a small town mortician. Though at first he did his duty making the corpses look peaceful and presentable, Lipzditsch’s curiosity got the better of him and he began researching more in-depth ways of giving them the appearance of life… or more than that, even. Eventually, a team of agents tracked him to his new location, and though initially cornered, Lipzditsch became delighted when it turned out the men were there with a request… a request that involved the recently deceased pop idol, Maxine Jichael. Maxine was a talented singer-songwriter who flew to the top of the charts soon after she began her career. Known for being as humble as she was creative, she quickly gained an extremely dedicated fan base who hung on her every breath. Even after they stopped. During a live show, a terrible accident occurred and Maxine was horrifically crushed by a falling piece of stage equipment. The audience, and indeed the world was inconsolable. But Maxine was far too valuable to be laid to rest quite yet, and her record company was happy to provide a certain ex—plastic surgeon plenty of resources if it meant getting their star back from the grave.

Herbert E. Lipzditsch

Herb’s two songs are Modify and Lifetime Achievement Award, the former of which is set during his time as a plastic surgeon.

Herb is one of three characters within this universe that have a greenish tint to their skin, the others being his cousin Oliver Stuf (of Market Land) and the unrelated travelling children’s entertainer Bartholomew Zew (of Gadzooks, Pumpkin Pie, The Saga of You: Confused Destroyer of Worlds, The Ultimate Showdown, Jaws, etc).

Herb is named for Herbert West (the lead character of the film Re-Animator) and Ernest Menville (the tritagonist of the film Death Becomes Her). He’s also somewhat based on J.S. Steinman (from Bioshock). ‘Lipzditsch’ was me trying to cram as many consonants as i could into one German-sounding name for the fun of it. If you’re wondering, it’s pronounced ‘lips stitch’ (with a slight z to the ‘s’)

like many of these characters, Lipzditsch is the ‘affably evil’ variety of mad doctor; he’s a genuinely friendly sort of person, but his sense of ethics and morality leave much to be desired.

His cohort of sinister nurses are the CEOR staff, a number of record execs who follow him around and hold things for him while he does the real work. Their uniform looks something like a cross between a business suit and scrubs.

Maxine Jichael

Poor Maxine doesn't come back quite right and has to be reanimated several times; she is the source of the freaky laboured breathing in LTAA.

Moves stiffly and sluggishly like a zombie most of the time.

Her most devastating fatal injuries were to her hands and throat, hence the emphasis on them.

Based on a combination of the two artists mentioned in the song, Katy Perry and Michael Jackson.

in case it isn’t obvious, Maxine’s name is derived from a spoonerism of Michael Jackson (‘Jichael Mackson’). Accordingly, her last name rhymes with Michael, if the spelling is throwing you off.

[fixfoxnox]

If you have any free time im requesting some camboy au headcanons about roach :0? Or letters to love headcanons about roach!!

Let's do some Letters headcanons! I haven't done one for Letters Roach and it gives me an opportunity to explain some things for the story!

Warnings: Stalker type behavior from Makarov, nsfw implied, slight non-con mentioned

Trans! Roach in the letters universe, which you guys probably knew, but he didn't come out until he was about sixteen

He is currently in his early-mid twenties in the fic and has been transitioning since he came out

Only person who knew he was trans earlier than sixteen was Eddie

Eddie is still a doctor in this AU and provided Roach with fantasy hormone blockers until he was ready to come out

So Roach essentially never hit a female puberty which has worked out for him because he doesn't have to bind his chest or anything

He was raised with a females education because he didn't come out until later

When he did come out, there was discussion of sending him through the classes for male aristocrats, but he would have been learning with small children, so they decided to just teach him the basics

For this reason Roach has no idea how to really fight (outside of a few things that we'll get to later), no idea how to hunt, and is a little less educated on things like war tactics, math, and history (he's learning though!)

Roach earned Makarov's affection when they were very young, which is part of why he doesn't remember it

Makarov was about eight while Roach was about five

Essentially Makarov was being a pouty bratty young prince

Little Roach got tired of it and came over to smack him with a book and tell him to shut the fuck up with his tantrum because he was trying to make flower crowns

Roach got in trouble for it, but Makarov was already smitten and it did not help that Roach later apologized to him with one of the flower crowns he made

Makarovs obsession was mostly innocent until he hit puberty then he started getting full on creepy and weird which is most of what Roach remembers

Roach and Jackson became bffs in this AU when they were kids. They were around the same age and their families estates are right next to each other, so it just made sense

Jonathan and Eddie fully believed that Roach and Jackson were sneaking around together when they were teens

Technically they weren't wrong, its just that rather than having sex, Roach and Jackson were going into town together and sneaking back to the estates with stray cats (the estates still have a cat problem because of them)

Makarov fucking despises Jackson, but he can't say or do shit because Jackson's family are the Kingdom's record keepers/treasurers

A list of creepy things that Makarov has done to Roach in this AU:

Stolen some of his clothes

Cut a piece of his hair to keep

"Accidentally" spilled wine, water, and mead on him several times

Had specific outfits made and sent to him (and since he's the prince, guess what Roach was wearing to any functions??)

Had copies of any portraits made of Roach made for himself (as well as hired some artists to draw Roach for him secretly)

Bought literally the exact same fragrances that Roach uses just so he can spray them in his room (and be creepy)

Followed him around secretly and made visits to Roach's families estate to sneak into his room

Literally tried to start rumors about the two of them to try and force them to be married

Straight up felt him up several times during big events where he could get away with it during like dancing and what not

There's other stuff but thats just some of the stuff off of the top of my head shdhdhdjjd

Roach is known for his penmanship in his kingdom! Its a highly valued skill in the kingdom and he's penned out letters for the royals before (including Makarov)

So when Soap is like 👁👄👁 with how fancy Roach's letters are, he was not exaggerating, like Roach is very very skilled

Soap is only Roach's third kiss in his life, not necessarily because there haven't been people interested, but rather that Roach hasn't been interested (take your guesses on who the other two kisses were lol)

Because Makarov is so solely interested and focused on Roach, Roach tends to get a lot of flak from other noble families

They want their own daughters/sons to marry the prince, so its very frustrating to them that Makarov has shown no interest in even trying with anyone other than Roach

It doesn't help that everyone can see how uninterested Roach is in the attention. They consider that to be a huge disrespect

So Roach has very few friends/support among the nobility, something that his mother has tried to fix but has often just resulted in Roach sitting in a room being made fun of all day

One last one: Roach is very much deeply attracted to the idea that Soap is a warrior king and has seen so much battle and all that, but he absolutely will not admit it

That shit is staying in his fantasies until after he is married thank you very much

[queenofcats17]

Ok so basically my Sammy was raised in a rich household. I like to think his family is a long line of rich individuals. My Sammy was raised by maids since his parents were absent and focusing only on making money. I also think Sammy's family are many successful people like doctors and lawyers, and his parents weren't ok with him wanting to pursue music. I believe he got punished often for wanting to go into a musical career, often being told things like "Lawrences are doctors and politicians. Not this music crap."

I think Sammy was also raised really religious.

I also believe him and Jack did know each other since kids but they met at elementary school and Sammy just kind of clung to him.

The way Sammy was raised has caused him to be a man that seeks approval and perfection as well as not knowing how to properly regulate his emotions and deal with them in a healthy manner. Which causes him to lash out a lot. I believe he's emotionally absent to many people as well because he was never given the proper care to know how to be there for someone and interact correctly. He also lashes out when he doesn't get his way (from getting everything he wanted growing up.)

Sammy also had to teach himself how to do a lot of things since growing up he never had to do any sort of chores or anything. It was all handed to him on a silver platter. He had to teach himself how to clean, cook, take proper care of himself, etc.

Also a fun fact about my Sammy: I believe he grew up in a household with many siblings, I'm talking The Loud House amount of siblings. This caused him to get even less attention than he would've gotten by the maids because they were all scrambling to take care of about 15 children.

Ooh! This is really interesting!

My version of Sammy grew up in a rural small town on a farm with his parents and his siblings. The sort of siblings he has tends to depend on which universe I'm using, but I do him having a twin brother called Peter in one universe.

Sammy's family loved him very much, but they didn't entirely understand him because he was an undiagnosed autistic kid at a time before people really knew what autism was. They did the best they could, but Sammy never really ended up learning how to deal with his feelings, so he has a tendency to bottle things up until they explode.

His parents were a little nervous about him pursuing music as a career, but it was just about the only thing that ever made him come alive, so they tried to support him as best they could.

I also have his family being religious, and in my version, that's how he met Jack. Their families met when they were going to church and the two of them became attached at the hip. They ended up going to college together and then started working together professionally after college.

Sammy trained himself out of his accent because he saw how people looked down on people who sounded the way he did and he refused to have anyone look down on him for any reason. He gets very touchy about being looked down on

[thefleetsfinest]

✧˖° → The McCoys

Leonard had been a Junior (11th grade/16 years old) in high-school when he started dating Jocelyn Darnell. They lived in one of those small towns where everyone knew everyone, but he had been the shy nerd in school and she had been a popular cheerleader. It was by the average clique standards that the two of them never really crossed paths, that was until Jocelyn had decided to make her ex-boyfriend jealous by picking Leonard out at a high school party (the kind the whole school practically went to.) and dragged him into a dance.

Of course her ex boyfriend Clay Treadway didn’t like that Leonard was ‘trying to steal his girl’ and the next day at school tried to start a fight. Much to everyone’s surprise it had been a fight that Leonard managed to win, and from that moment on Leonard and Jocelyn were considered to be going steady. All that summer, and through their senior year of high school the two were inseparable.

The two of them started out great, they had enough in common and matching tempers that they seemed like a well enough mix. Leonard of course had fallen hard, and would do anything to make Jocelyn smile, he was happy and relatively carefree.

When it came time for them to choose a college, the both of them had agreed to go to the university of Mississippi together. Everything was going great, they were young and in love. Of course the couple wasn’t perfect and they would occasionally get into fights. The two both had a way with words, and knew how to cut the other deep. They always reconciled within a few days, and to this day Leonard claims that makeup sex is the best thing ever invented.

The month before Leonard graduated from Medical School, Jocelyn found out that she was pregnant. It came as a relative surprise since the two of them had always been so careful about birth control, but there had been one night where they had been particularly drunk and one thing led to another...

Once Leonard graduated from medical school, the two moved back to Georgia, moving into a relatively nice home in the suburbs of Atlanta. The two got married in a relatively small ceremony after Leonard finally proposed.

Everything seemed like it was going to be okay, despite the stress that came with Leonard’s long hours of working at a hospital. There were unfortunately no shortcuts in the medical field, and he was more than willing to work hard for what he wanted. It didn’t help that he had his father’s reputation as a DAMN GOOD DOCTOR to live up to.

Despite all that life through at them, the McCoys were still a relatively happy family. Even still the little things always had a way of adding up and eventually things had to come crumbling down. One of the biggest flaws Leonard had was his inability to manage a GOOD work/life balance. If he wasn't working long hours at the hospital, he was trying to catch up on chores around the house, or get some quality time in with Jojo, all of which left not nearly enough quality time for their relationship.

The marriage didn’t take a HARD downward spiral until Leonard’s father got terminally ill. Leonard who had always been very close with his dad, became obsessed with finding a cure. All he could think about was trying to keep his father alive long enough for him to find some cure for him. However no matter how much time he threw into research, and how close he managed to get.. He just couldn’t find that last MISSING PIECE he needed to save his father.

October 10th, 2252 David McCoy passes away and as far as anyone is concerned he had finally just succumbed to his illness. [ The truth is here, though there is a HEAVY TRIGGER for assisted s*ic*de ]

His dad's death took it’s toll on Leonard, he took up going to the bar after work a bit more and became incredibly distant from Jocelyn, and anyone other than Jojo. He was filled with so much guilt and grief that it became incredibly hard to cope.

Leonard becoming distant from Jocelyn seemed to be the breaking point for their marriage. She felt extremely neglected that her husband wouldn’t even so much as give her the time of day, or let her in on what has been troubling him. She could tell that it was more than just his father passing away, she knew he was hiding something but she could never get Leonard to talk about it, no matter how hard she tried. This led to fight after fight, and though they always did the best to wait until after Joanna went to bed, never liking to fight in front of her.

Eventually it all became too much, and Leonard had pushed her so far away, that he ended up pushing her right back into the arms of Clay Treadway. A year after his father died, Jocelyn finally had enough and filed for divorce, which came as a slap in the face to Leonard, who despite having been distant still had the (WILDLY NAIVE) hopes that they could make it work because he did love her very much. With the filing for divorce came the long drawn out custody battles over Joanna. Leonard wanted to have the right to see his daughter as much as he wanted, because that little girl still was his world and he refused to let her go. The whole thing was drawn out over a span of about a year, the two only ever seeing each other at meetings with their lawyers.. Except for once instance, that being May 9th, their anniversary and though despite everything that was happening Leonard had gotten himself relatively drunk and found himself calling her up.

The two spent one last drunken night together, reliving what use to be, just one more one last time. Though it had felt so right in the moment, the two had been together for thirteen years and in a moment of weakness shared one last night together. However when the morning came, so came the feeling of regret over what they had done. Especially since Jocelyn was technically in a relationship with Clay.

Finally in Febuary of 2255 the divorce was finalized, with primary custody of Joanna being awarded to Jocelyn. However Leonard was still given full visitation rights to his daughter. Leonard was incredibly bitter and hurt over the divorce, still unable to fully let Jocelyn go, and had decided being forced to watch Jocelyn start her new life was too much and the rash decision to join Starfleet happened.

It had been his need to get as far as he could from having to see Jocelyn be happy, his guilt over his father’s death ( A guilt that tripled when a cure was found for the illness was discovered), and the death of a young girl, a patient of his who had the dream of one day becoming a Starfleet Captain had been the final push for him to say ‘Fuck it’ and sign up for Starfleet. That was how one Leonard Horatio McCoy ended up on that shuttle in Riverside, Iowa.

[mirtifero]

May I ask about ur rogues :D ? Like, what's the basic backstory behind each one, and maybe if you have any drawing or just an idea of appearance :P

(HOLY FUCK THIS ENDED HUGE BECAUSE OF THE SCARECROW BIT)

I do have some doodles but I'm very insecure regarding them so I won't rlly show them.

Also putting this under read more because i fear it may get big lol

The rogues that I currently have are Joker, Harley, Ivy, Riddler and Scarecrow. I want to do a Scarface and Ventriloquist (I LOVE him very much) and also a Two Face (I also want to do a Gilda but she's not a rogue) but I don't have many ideas yet.

The only one with a backstory is John, Harley and Ivy have little drafts

Scarecrow

Tw: abuse, bullying, death, animal death, manipulation, unethical medical stuff, eh you get the idea

Jonathan has a similar backstory to Year One, being raised by his great granny in Georgia (not many details here because my brazilian ass doesn't know anything about Georgia). Because of the abuse he suffered from her, he became a bit of an isolated child and overall kinda numb to things around him (since he was constantly anxious and overthinking, he was also kinda unaware of whatever was happening around him). He was also very, very physically weak, which meant the work he did used to make him constantly physically sick and he constantly had to go to school during these times. Overall he was a very easy victim of bullying so that also shaped a lot of his life. His teachers didn't do much because, since it was a very conservative and religious town, the fact that he was a bastard child and "weird", "offputting", "sick" and overall "too fidgety/scared" to things around him, they used to think of him as less or as some sinful thing. Besides that his family didn't have a great reputation either so no reason for them to care, right? He did try to fight back or outsmart his bullies but it never really worked because why would it! He was sick and skinny and no one would ever try to protect him. He spent most of his time reading and mostly trying to understand what was wrong with him, which gave him a lot of medical and psychological knowladge later on.

By reading was when he started to obsess with fear. He knew that he HAD to have some sort of power over people so he made a sort of character for himself. Not really Scarecrow, he used to be very into gothic horror so he made a sort of ghost figure that didn't rely on him appearing to scare people. He would kill rats and other small animals, put them in lockers or doors, write with blood and just enjoy himself watching people freak out. He never made the hauntings talk about treating him better because he knew it would make things worse for him, he just wanted to see people freak out and have that euphoric feeling inside him that it was because of HIM. The town had rumours about being haunted now and it was because of HIM and that made his attitude towards people to shift a lot over time. He went from being shy and insecure to just quiet and egocentrical. John didn't, like, stutter much anymore, he'd just stare quietly at things. Over time that evolved to him being very manipulative and good at playing with people's emotions/playing with his own facade.

I'm not so sure about this part but I do think he manages to make his great granny have a heart attack once and that, like, he had that sudden shift to being happier with himself. According to him, he unfortunately had to pretend to be scared and sad about his great granny's death but he was EUPHORIC about it.

When he grew up he managed to get a scholarship to Gotham University, where he majored in psychology. He stopped his shenanigans for a while there, since he felt somewhat safer. People didn't really care much about the tall lanky man so he didn't care much either. He worked in small magazines and custumer service for a while to pay the bills while he kept studying. He has a master in medicine and a doctorate in psychochemestry. During his post grads is where things get funky again.

He started to research on Arkham, where he did not care whatsoever about the patients well being and overall kinda used that freedom he had to expand his research. He wanted to see how people reacted to fear, seeing its uses and overall how to cause fear in "very small amounts that multiply to a disaster". He basically fucking incentived self destructing and mayhem, "in very small amounts", kinda to see what happened (ps: Batman already existed by then).

His papers started doing numbers(tm) because, since he was very good at twisting things, he made all the unethical and destructive nature of his research go unseen. He managed to become a professor, a job that he really enjoyed! He basically went his days lecturing and doing research at Arkham, having basically two jobs at that point. Like, nice by day evil by night (?,????? AKSJANWH).

Anyways, at some point he wanted to start using his chemestry knowladge and he started working on the fear toxin, which he tested on arkham patients (Riddler was one of them btw but more on that later) which caused enough problems to call authorities attention.

He started getting criticized (rightfully so btw it was terrible stuff happening) on the academia which started to freak him out. He was very angry that he was on the edge of losing his teaching job (which was a great source of pleasure for him, he was even very nice to students!!!) but also horrified of the same thing. He wanted to keep his research at all costs because he was too far gone at that point and thought he was being bullied like when he was a kid, which, uh, yeah.

Because of him associating being rightfully criticized with his past, he decided to go back to his usual bullshittery. Except this time with a Scarecrow, since his research used a lot the idea of a metaphorical scarecrow and shit. He had a curious relationship with birds that I'll mention in a sec and he basically started training them to attack officials, students, started leaving dead stuff around, write shit and also poison people with toxin.

It was, in many ways, not nearly as calculated as his kid shenanigans, because he was in a different context where he tought he was going to lose the only thing he loved.

Anyways.

Batman got his ass. Yaay!!

Okay so other stuff:

He has a very complicated relationship with religion, he is scared of abandoning it but he also hates it with his very being.

Because of the above, his relationship with sex is even more complicated. He doesn't mind sex, people talking about it or even reading it in a book, he is just scared of him in specific being punished for anything sexual. Plus, he has a lot of internalized homophobia and he's gay, so, uh, there's a lot to unpack here.

Although he was scared of crows, when he started to become very fascinated by them. He daydreamed about being this tall being surrounded by crows and shit like he thought it'd be so badass.

During his teaching years he was actually quite nice to his students but tbh only to his students. Other than that he was just a smirking manipulative cunt and very serious looking.

After all the chaos his manipulative nature started to make him look very unnerving since he was constantly looking happy but it was very obvious he was either freaking out or incredibly angry. He is constantly smiling and acting calm but he is, very obviously, not okay.

He gets along with Harley okay. She reminds him of his students so she's, like, somewhat a close friend. She is neutral about him but considers him a friend. She hates what he did to patients tho.

His relationship with Edward is HORRIBLY UNSTABLE. More on that later.

He has such a fucking crush on Batman you don't get it. Part of him WANTED to get caught by Batman SPECIFICALLY during that mess. He denies it to his last breath but he wants to spin Batman on a microwave and dissecate his brain and he has such a crush it's horrible. He watches the news religiously wanting to see the batman bits.

Appearence wise he looks like a mixture of fear state and future state. Also a bit of arkham knight.

Joker

Tw: murder and reference to abuse

Okay so he doesn't have a backstory yet and he's, like, very different from usual Joker because I made him while angry at Joker AKWHNQHQKA

He's basically a manchild, a whiny annoying bitch that is very loud and colorful and laughing at literally everything. His jokes consist of murder and death and always connected to puns, sometimes nonsensical because he's having a moment.

He gets angry easily and screams a lot and is one of the, surprisingly, most deadly rogues (not on the top 3 but def on the top, idk, 10 or maybe 5).

He loves wearing eccentric clothing and acting like the world is a stage and he is very unpredictable when it comes to who is his next pun victim. He can be very manipulative and creepy if he's calmed down, but that's rare, so he's mostly just loud and obnoxious. No one likes him and he's mostly just very dangerous because of his unpredictable brutality.

He was Harley's patient and when she met his "calmer side" she was fascinated and wanted to understand him, which made him manipulate her a lot. More on that later. She left him when he freaked out and screamed at her and shit like he fr never loved her or whatever.

He's obsessed with the batman, believing he is the only one that can bring him some sort of wanted joy that he longs for so much. He never feels properly happy and he just believes Batman is the one who will bring this happiness to him like an angel. When he isn't causing mayhem full of makeup and bright clothing he is overall kinda sad and miserable looking.

That's kinda of it! He is a bit difficult to explain :(

Appearence wise he's like. A clown. His hair is spiky tho. (When he's not with makeup his hair kinda falls and it's very depressing like Kajwkqjsk)

Riddler

Tw: abuse, neglect, stuff like that

He is... oh where do I start.

Edward has a history of being treated like shit by people around him. As a child, he was actually very sweet and excited about everything! But his excitement was looked as something very annoying. People would beat the shit out of him or just treat him as less. That made him start to close with time and become a very quiet child, always playing with math and little puzzles. He was also very neglected so he wanted to constantly find ways of getting attention, by being the greatest, by convincing himself he was the greatest. He needed to survive, somehow.

Things didn't get better with time, his unstable behaviour making him become isolated and sometimes even physically harmed by people around him. That made him befome more aggressive and insecure and an overall mess. During most of his young years he cried a lot alone.

His backstory isn't complete yet, but this develops into him becoming incredibly selfish and egocentrical and to see himself as superior. He thinks people around him are trying to copy him or underestimate his abilities with tend to lead to him being really obnoxious.

I don't know how he snapped yet, but it was definitely him wanting attention and getting it in a very aggressive manner.

He is very obsessed with numbers and puzzles and needs to constantly do them otherwise he may end up self destructive. In the sense of "avoiding a single thought from occuring" yk?

He was one of John's patients and oh boy was that. Complicated.

John is fascinated by Edward, it's kind of a "I can make him so much worse". Jonathan even tested less his experiments on Edward because he wanted to just... dissect his brain in a way.

Edward however never really contributed. He hated John. He believed with all his heart that he was just trying to flatter him and "fix him". He also KNEW something was fucked up about John and did not want to take part in it, since he thought he was far superior to whatever lab rat John wanted Ed to be. The only time John used his toxin on Ed was out of curiosity on what Ed feared, and wanting him to get closer to him (it's kinda fucked up). This whole thing just makes him even more fascinated by Ed and yeah Ed hates his ass (rightfully so).

He's bi and has a complicated relationship with Batman. He is obsessed with wanting to outsmart him and/or also sees him as an equal and/or has a huge fucking crush.

He barely gets along with anyone tbh because he kinda hates everyone around him (even batman in a way).

He is still a draft like there's a lot I can add here!!! So sorry for the lack of stuff

Appearance wise he looks. He wears a silly hat and the suit it's kinda of a weird mix between yz and ak riddler.

Harley

Tw: abuse

Harley was a psychologist with the dream of helping people. She started as a teenage therapist and enjoyed it very much, specially with how she was able to incentive people to be genuine and start being chaotically happy, angry or anything like that.

She got a job at arkham and had to leave her other job for that. Shit with Joker happened blah blah blah and she kinda... okay let me explain

So, her whole thing was about self expressionx wasn't it? She thought by helping Joker to express himself she would also manage to become genuine and free from societal chains but she actually found herself even more trapled. She lost herself. She didn't know who she was anymore.

When she had a pretty bad fight with Joker she realized all of that and left. But she kinda got her ass dragged to arkham in the process. Where she had a lot of time to think.

She spent a lot of time very depressed, her whole goal was to make people genuine and authentic individuals and she found herself being a shadow. Harley wanted a fresh start, so after shaving her head she started trying new things, reading new books and yeah experimenting overall. She enjoyed the idea of being a villain in the eyes of people if it meant being authentic, in a way, but she needed to find herself for that.

Fun fact, while she was Joker's shadow, she was called "The Columbine" after the character from commedia dell'arte, she changed it for "Harley Quinn" after that. Because it was cooler and sounded more like her.

She started to enjoy a lot drawing and skating and breaking shit. Hashtag self expression.

She met Ivy on arkham while she tried gardening, and Ivy went like "you suck at this" and they slowly fell in love and they are girlfrieneddsss!!!! :33

Harley tries to get along with everyone (she's one of the only people who KINDA can KINDA get along with Eddie but it's a very KINDA)

This is also a draft so yeah! She's bi and also ethnically jewish, not veeery religious but still enjoys her culture a lot.

She also knows how to play baseball. And is very good at rollerskating. And both at the same time. She sometimes does insane shit around gotham just because and it's very easy to know she went somewhere since everything is kinda thrown around and painted with graffiti and shit. She looves it!

She looks like future state her because i love that design so much

Ivy

Tw: cannibalism (oopsie!)

Scientist gone mad type of stuff. Straight up ecoterrorist, not a good person whatsoever.

Her backstory is very similar to unburied. Except there's a whole lot of murder and at some specific points cannibalism as a form of establishing dominance. Since all the ideas are kinda thrown around I'm unable to properly explain them in a "story time" way :(

She became a plant like monstrocity and managed to develop photosynthesis too (before that she straight up ate human meat because she refused to eat animals or plants).

She is a very obnoxious individual, but surprisingly quiet. She just looks at other people like she could murder them and they shut up. She is rude, overall mean but also kinda sensitive, specially when it comes to plants. She feels like she just wants to protect herself and others and doesn't see the evil in her actions, and she feels a lot of pain when plants are hurt. So her being mean is kind of a means of self defense, because chances are she cries a lot when she's alone.

She used to feel like she was weak, useless, so she found a way to become powerful and used that against people who hurt her, who hurt her plants.

Her appearence is silly because it's like, kinda similar to sale's version of her hair wise, and body wise it's complicated. She cannot wear clothes since they physically hurt, she is green and like. There's probably a whole ecosystem inside her lol. Her eyes are also kinda funky.

She loves Harley a lot, and her hair even blossoms when she's around her. Harley teaches her to be angry, sad, to be herself and she cares a lot about her. Harley's probably the only human Ivy genuenely cares about.

She's also a lesbian because I'm a lesbian and I said so????

She spends a lot of time quiet and unmoving inside arkham's gardens, maybe humming to herself. She looks like a plant and it's quite creepy. In a good way!

***

Okay so that's kinda all I have aksjaksj sorry for HOW HUGE scarecrow's bit is I'm. Mentally unwell. Very normal about him.

Also the amount of self projection here was insane sorry abt that.

Yay! :D

[fatgumsurpremacy-remastered]

What was Madoxx's life like during childhood? If it was bad, I'm gonna cry!

Ok-

Tw: amputations, body mods

Ok

Maddox and his mother had moved from the Appalachian’s due to monetary restraints. He came down as a young girl named Anne as he’d yet to transition (he was around 3). Dell met his mom at a diner one day and insisted on walking her home.

Maddox who was with a friend of his moms couldn’t stop glaring at this dude but Dell was enamored with him. Calling her ‘little lady’ and ‘Dr. Anne’ because of how smart he was.

He in turn flipped Dell the burn and skulked in the other room.

Dell knew that he wanted to court Maddox’s mom and asked if they could date.

Time went on and Maddox warmed up to dell, especially after he took him to a small town where he met his tía Yelena. He calls her Ma as she was like a second mother to him. This is how he grew up to be polylinguistic.

He was a lot more mature than the kids he went to school with because he hung around 9 mercenaries all the time. All except medic and Engie because uncles.

This led to him being bullied a lot over his looks, (he refused to wear a dress) and intelligence.

He grew really depressed and naughty as his bullies became more physical but he had no real way of helping himself.

Dell thought he could give him some upgrades to better his fighting. Unfortunately the anesthesia only kept him paralyzed as Medic and Engie worked on him. So his behavioral issues worsened out of fear, and he grew a horrible aversion to medic for most of his life and Engie for a couple years.

It wasn’t until Dell started to notice that he took a knack to writing and acting that Maddox came back around. And since the only playhouse in town was a male led one he took up the stage name ‘Maddox Magelin’ to fit in.

There he grew his skills, not only in acting, but also as a playwright and director. His behavioral issues went away completely as he finally had an outlet for his emotions.

He realized he was trans around his freshman year of Highschool and his dad supported him fully, but Maddox refused surgery due to his fear of doctors.

He took his name from his stage name.

Now his little brother Franklin helped him build his maturity throughout life, having been born when Maddox was 8. And at first Maddox hated him, but he grew to love the tall squirt more than himself.

He got his first girlfriend with the help of Franklin at 15, and started doing beginner classes at private universities during his sophomore year.

Soon after he got accepted into Oxford on a writing and academic scholarship, as well as some help money from his dad. He threw himself into doctoral studies for novel writing, linguistics, and research compostion. Loosing his accent to the local one.

After about 6 years and an early graduation he wanted a job where he could relax and get some friends. Which is when Engie informed him of his new weapons testing facility over where he used to work.

The rest is history.

Not too complex but given his nature it makes for some fun stories!

[fiddleheadrp]

FOUNDER FAMILIES

These families helped to make Fiddlehead what it is today and their descendants live on in the town even now. Those descendants are available as playable characters, most of which are free for the player to interpret as they desire!

REMINGTON ASHLEIGH - Human

One of the names that will haunt any historian in Fiddlehead is that of Remington Ashleigh. We know he was quite wealthy via his late wife’s fortune when he arrived in Fiddlehead, and his devotion to her never swayed. He had a great love of nature, education, architecture, and the marriage between the three. He funded and built the university and the estate that would one day become Aiguille State Park. He drowned in an attempt to swim in Fern Lake in the depths of an Oregon winter. And yet, we do not know his late wife’s name, where he lived before Fiddlehead, what his occupation might have been, where he was buried, or any hint of his personality beyond his generous donations. The only living Ashleigh heir no longer resides in Fiddlehead, and they have historically been highly resistant to questions about their founding ancestor, so anything further may indeed remain a mystery.

Descendant: Reserved

ISOBEL GREENE - Witch

Believed to be a nurse or some other type of healer, Isobel Greene is credited with leading the oldest circle that Fiddlehead records can find. She is responsible for the construction of the dome cabin that Fiddlehead witches use as a haven to this day. It is believed that Greene's original construction is one of the earliest instances of utilizing geometric shapes to enhance magical flow in the United States. Her line still resides in Fiddlehead, though not all are witches.

Descendant(s): Available!

JOHANNES HART - Werewolf

Stories of the first alpha in Fiddlehead paint him as a joyous daredevil. Not much is known about his pack's story, but some rediscovered journals place them as originally from Vancouver. Johannes was known for valuing exploration and working the land; which is likely why he is also the founder of the still working local dairy farm that carries his name.

Descendants: Some available! (2 of 7 Claimed)

HAROLD & ROSE MORTCOMBE - Human

Harold and Rose Mortcombe were already in their fifties when they moved their entire family from New York to Oregon in 1819. The Mortcombes are an old-money family that took interest in the possible lumber trade that would one day take off in Oregon, but Fiddlehead became protected land and the lumber trade didn’t take off locally, sending their children back eastward. Their descendants still own some property in the Environs, which they so far use for vacations rather than full-time living.

Descendant(s): Available!

LUCIUS HAMILTON - Human(?)

A scotsman of some renown at the time, Lucius Hamilton was a navy man who retired to Fiddlehead in 1822 with a new wife who is in many of the portraits painted of Lucius at the time. Their deaths were never recorded, and many speculate now that perhaps they became vampires before their departure. Conspiracy theorists have latched onto a particular passage of one of Lucius’ recovered letters to support this, along with the idea that he may be buried somewhere on the grounds of his old estate. Hunting for the lost Hamilton Crypt is a common Summer pastime for outdoorsy Fiddlehead teens who want to traipse around in the woods with friends. 

Descendant(s): Available!

ABBINGTON LOCKWOOD - Human

The first doctor of Fiddlehead, relocated from Massachusetts in 1823. Abbington was a deeply private individual who enjoyed the quiet of such a small community. He and Remington Ashleigh were said to be quite close friends, and when Ashleigh wrote to him about a simple cough he packed up everything, including his young daughter, and moved to Fiddlehead to ensure his health would always be cared for.

Descendant(s): Available!

[stories-poetry4all]

💔5 years later, she became a doctor and attended the wedding of alpha king, who rejected her before.

"Alpha, do you accept the beautiful bride as your luna?" The priest asked.

"I'm afraid, no." He was gazing at me. "She came back...I mean, my true mate."

5 years ago…

I was only 18 years old when I met him.

The Alpha King.

Or My Fated Mate.

It was my first time participating in a gathering of werewolves, since I was old enough to have a mate so my parents thought taking me to the event would be an amazing thing for me, if only they knew they were right about one thing.

I did find my mate there.

It's just that he didn't want me to be his mate.

"You're Gwen?" Even his voice sounded deep and sexy in my ears.

For a girl who is never in love nor has experience with man only from an amazing and beautiful story about finding a mate, my heart beating fast for the first time almost like I couldn’t breathe.

I nodded "Yes, Gwen Louve" I replied nervously.

He looked at me intently which made me feel shy and smaller.

"Why don't you have your wolf?" He asked straightforwardly and I knew it was probably the first time he had come across a werewolf without a wolf like me.

I smiled wryly. "I don't know."

He nodded and I frowned in confusion because I saw no smile forming from his lips.

Is he not happy?!

"Then this will be easier" He said and made me more confused.

"Huh?"

"You see the woman I'm with is more worthy than you…” He speaks while locking his eyes on me for the whole time, I never thought this is what I heard the moment I find my fated mate “So don't think you deserve to be my mate.”

"What?!” I whispered in shock.

"I'm a king, it's impossible to be with a wolfless girl like you" he continued.

Stab... Stab...

Again the sharp stab of his words made me raise my hand and touch my aching chest.

"I hope you understand" were his last words before he turned away and left me hurt by it.

God...

Why?

I thought not having a wolf meant not having a mate, but you gave me the best man of all werewolves only he didn't want me, why?

From then on I realised that even the moon goddess was not on my side, I had to find my own future and happiness.

**

Present Day.

Forest Riege.

She finally returned to my hometown after 5 years.

Looking around the airport in this small town hasn't changed much, in fact it's practically the same.

“Hello, Gwen, are you there?”

Gwen gasped as she heard the voice of her long best friend, Alice and the wave of her hand in front of her face.

"Sorry, I was daydreaming" She mumbled in embarrassment.

Alice smiled "Are you thinking about something?"

She smiled back, unsure of how to explain that something was making her uneasy.

Carrying two large baskets, the brown curly-haired, shoulder-length, blue-eyed girl stared at her surroundings.

The next town which is close to the hometown where she was born and raised, it has been almost 5 years since she came home and today she decided to return after a long time her father finally contacted her to invite her to become a doctor in the town where she was born.

Gwen Katherine Louve who is the third child and the only girl in her family of Alpha descent, but she is also the only one who does not have a wolf inside her which makes her different to people.

Some consider her weak, strange and unnatural, but those who know her know that she is a special woman.

For someone who doesn't have a wolf inside you, who is always made fun of by others because of that, how do I explain that I also get rejected by my fated mate?

No one knows about the incident 5 years ago…

No one knows that I have a fated mate and he rejected me because he has someone else…

As the 3rd child of an Alpha, everyone was already confused as to how I could not have a wolf inside me, so I guess I will keep it hidden about me getting rejected.

Going to university with humans is the right choice because many female werewolves don't choose to have higher education because they can't part with their life mate, but I'm different, I can be free to be and do whatever I want, because I don't have a wolf so people are convinced that I won't have a life mate, well they, again, were right about I don’t have a mate because he rejected me.

I chose this path because I wanted to prove that I deserve the best things in life, that I have the ability to be anything.

I deserved to be happy...

##Chapter 2

It was my graduation and my father's compulsion that brought me back to this city, back to the people who had started talking about me.

The lack of doctors here made my choice to become a doctor; a good one and for the first time, my father was proud of me, I know my choice to leave the city to studying medicine isn’t what he thought I will choose for my life, but since that night, the painful night make me thinking about leaving the life of werewolf or be part of it is what I truly want as a way to forget my pain.

"How are you, Alice?" I changed the subject and asked her how she was doing.

Alice was my little friend, she’s 3 years older and of course, already had her life mate, who surprisingly was my brother no 2, Rick, thus making her a Beta wife.

But despite that, Alice was still Alice and I was very happy that Rick had her as his mate, because I knew my brother, Alice was the best choice for him.

"How is life there?" I raised an eyebrow at Alice's question

"What do you mean?"

She giggled "Come on.... There are no guys at all! I know human men are no less attractive."

I laughed "You want details of my s* life?" I replied with an amused chuckle

"Ew... No!" she frowned and realized what she just said "Forget what I said, I don't want to know"

I laughed out loud and made her giggle.

Thump!!

What is that?

Why is my heart racing?

Thump… Thump… Thump!!

"Is anyone coming?" I said when I saw the large number of werewolf guards standing guard around the area leading to our town from the human world airport.

Alice nodded "Do you know Rolf Titus AKA the Alpha King?"

My heart almost stops the moment she mentions the name.

"Seems to have heard of it, what's wrong with it?" I pretended to look cool and asked carefully.

"Tonight some important Alphas are gathering in our city to discuss the King’s mates" She spoke in a whisper as if afraid of being overheard.

What?!

I frowned "What's with the mate? I thought he had someone beside him?"

Alice raised her eyebrows “How do you know?”

I quickly shrugged my shoulders “Hey, he’s being a king for what… 200 years? How come he has no mate?” I comment lightly so my friend won’t get suspicious. Yes, even I didn’t tell Alice about the night, no one knows about me getting rejected.

She sighed and shook her head “500 years for exact and nope.. he still has no fated mate”

What?! How come?!

My eyes widened in shock after hearing that; he said he’s with the woman he brought that night. I thought he would claim her after he rejected me.

Alice, as if understanding what I was thinking said "No Gwen, he has his wolf, the mighty 'Wolf' but for a long 500 years he has no fated mate" She spoke like it was my question and I just gave her a small smile.

I was surprised to hear that..

Then how did he live without a mate all this time?

So, who is the woman he brought that night?

The woman who is the reason why he rejected me is because I am not good enough to be the fated mate of an Alpha king.

As Alice's car pulled into the garage and we walked together while pulling my suitcase, I saw that my father's house, the Alpha's house, was full of people.

I saw someone standing at the entrance and from the look in his eyes I knew he wasn't waiting for me but my friend, his mate.

"Alice..." He let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly kissed her cheek then hugged her tightly like a couple who hadn't seen each other for a long time.

I rolled my eyes lazily and snorted. "Hello to you too, brother, the Beta" I greeted Rick who smiled as he released his hug and came forward to hug me.

Compared to my relationship with my first brother, Ryan, my relationship with Rick is much warmer, maybe because from a young age he was not taught to be responsible as an Alpha, unlike Ryan who always had this obligation from an early age.

"You finally remembered to come home too, little brat." Rick teased and locked my head in his armpit, just like we used to do since we were young.

"Gwen..."

The booming voice I remembered called my name. Rick removed his hand that he had placed on my shoulder and bowed his head in respect to my Dad who walked over with my first brother beside him, Ryan, and a few other Alphas who had already arrived.

Soon people also started greeting me and started talking about the King who was rumored to be very handsome.

'He's here...' I was surprised to hear a voice from inside my mind that never existed before.

What?

Who's here?

Who's talking?

I was so confused that I heard a voice that I had never heard before, like it was coming from inside me.

I gasped.

Could it be...?

My wolf...?

##Chapter 3

The atmosphere was tense since the arrival of the Alpha king, with the Alphas mentally bracing themselves to say things that they believed could kill them.

I heard a lot about him, the Alpha king, there's even a book about how he brutally and mercilessly eliminated his enemies so that the werewolf kingdom became as powerful as it is now.

I guess having a wolfless mate will be his weakness so he hates the idea of having me beside him.

Don't know if that's his reason?

But it's still wrong, if he's really strong, protecting me should be an easy thing, right?

Never mind Gwen, don't think about it anymore, let it go...

You're a strong woman, a doctor and deserve another man and be happy with anyone if your fated mate doesn't want you.

But as usual, luck was not on my side as I saw a dashing figure standing in front of my parents who looked tense.

Thump.. Thump.. Thump...!

My heart, please quiet!!

IT IS HIM?!!!

I try to act cool or not nervous but my heart seems to have her own mind because it is beating fast.

“I don’t know what makes you so nervous but I know everyone could hear your heartbeat”

Gasped, I turn my gaze to meet my old friend, Daniel, standing beside me with a smirk forming of his face “Dan, you surprise me”

“Welcome back, baby girl” He greeted me with a huge smile before giving me a tight embrace.

I chuckle “Still charming I see”

“Always baby” He responded with a wink and I can’t help but laugh at him.

Daniel is a manwhore but he is my long cousin and we were close since young so talking with him like this is what we used to do. I know about his adventure and he treats me like his little sister.

“Why didn't you stand with your family to greet the Alpha King?” He asked and I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Should I?" I asked and Daniel knew that I had always hated being associated with the Alpha family.

He just chuckled and patted my back lightly "I don't think he'll realise that you're not there" He replied lightly, but somehow it seemed like luck had never been on my side.

"GWEN!!!" I gasped as I heard my father's voice call out and we both raised our heads to see everyone looking at us.

Huh?

My heart raced again as I met his eyes.

His eyes lock on me the whole time…

What did he mean by that look?

Why did he seem angry?

"O..kay, why does it seem like the Alpha king hates me? He looks like he wants to kill me with his gaze?!" Daniel whispered before gently pushing my back to start moving closer to where they were standing.

Angry?

Why is he angry?

Is it because I talked to Daniel?

[readingforsanity]

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell | Robert Dugoni | Published 2018 | *SPOILERS*

Sam Hill always saw the world through different eyes. Born with red pupils, he was called “Devil Boy” or Sam “Hell” by his classmates; God’s Will is what his mother called his ocular albinism. Her words were of little comfort, but Sam perservered, buoyed by his mother’s devout faith, his father’s practical wisdom, and his two other misfit friends. 

Sam believed it was God who sent Ernie Cantwell, the only African American kid in his class, to be the friend he so desperately needed. And it was God’s idea for Mickie Kennedy to storm into Our Lady of Mercy like a tornado, uprooting every rule Sam had been taught about boys and girls. 

Forty years later, Sam, a small-town eye doctor, is no longer certain anything was by design - especially not the tragedy that caused him to turn his back on his friends, his hometown, and the life he’d always known. Running from the pain, eyes closed, served little purpose. Now, as he looks back on his life, Sam embarks on a journey that will take him halfway around the world. This time, his eyes are wide open - bringing into clear view what changed him, defined him, and made him so afraid, until he can finally see what truly matters. 

Sam Hill was born with ocular albinism, turning his eyes a subtle shade of red from birth. The story is told by an adult Sam between 1989 and 1999, retelling the story of his extraordinary life that his mother promised he would have, but one that he didn’t believe until he was in his 40s. 

His parents, devout Catholics, were his strongest advocates in life. When it was time for him to start first grade at the local Catholic school, he was initially denied by Sister Beatrice, the principal of the school. She believed that Sam’s eye condition would take away from the other childrens education as a distraction, but his mother would have none of it. She took the story to the local news, and the next morning, Sam was able to start. 

He spent a lot of the first few months as a lonely child, until he met Ernie Cantwell. As the only black child in Burlingame, California and at the school, the two became quick friends. Ernie, however, was popular due to his ability to play all types of sports but that didn’t stop him and Sam from having a lovely friendship. Together, they were able to overcome the school bully, David Bateman. 

After spending an afternoon together at Ernie’s home, Sam was attempting to ride home when he encountered Bateman and his two henchmen. Sam was beaten to a pulp by David. That evening, David’s family and Sam’s family were told to meet at the school. The parish priest, Father Brogan, expelled David from the school for lying and his parents attempting to cover it up for him, mostly his mother. The two friends with David told the truth to their parents, who then told the school. Sam did not see him again until he was much older. 

Ernie, Sam and a female student by the name of Mickie remained close friends throughout middle school and high school. The night of Sam’s graduation, his father suffered a paralyzing stroke in which he was unable to return home and began living in a care facility. Sam took over his father’s drugstore, and after a year’s deferrment, Sam went to Stanford University to begin college. 

He opened his own practice, along with Mickie and remains close friends with Ernie. Mickie is also a doctor of optometry, like Sam, and Ernie took over his father’s computer company after spending time with the NFL as a professional football player. Though Sam’s father was unable to return home after his stroke, he was able to regain some of his speech and his mother still spoke with him nearly everyday. 

When a young woman named Trina Crouch brought her young daughter in to see Sam after an accident left her with an eye injury, Sam comes face to face with his childhoos bully, as David Bateman is Trina’s ex-husband and the father of her daughter. Sam knows that the injury is not the result of a bike accident, but instead was given at the hands of her own father. David, now a policeman, threatens Sam. But Trina is ready to stop hiding from him, and begins the process to have his parental rights taken away. She comes clean about all of the abuse her daughter is suffering at the hands of her father. On the day of the hearing, Sam is told that David went to the hotel where Trina was staying, shot and killed her before killing himself. 

Sam blames himself for this, as he felt he was responsible for Trina attempting to take back her life. He ends up leaving the country all together, traveling the world to help the disadvantaged with their eye problems with something similar to Doctors without Borders. But when Mickie calls and tells him that he needs to return home because his mother has an aggressive form of breast cancer, Sam does and decides he is not leaving. 

He confesses his love to Mickie, who does the same to him. They have always loved each other but life and other circumstances have kept thema way from each other despite a brief period of time when they had slept together as teens. Sam also confides to Mickie that he is starting the process to adopt a young boy from South America who also has the same eye condition as him, and that he wants to marry Mickie. 

Together, Mickie, Sam and his parents fly to a religious area in Lourdes, France, a pilgrimage that his mother has always wanted to take. There, somehow, Sam regains his faith after losing it. But, his mother’s condition quickly worsens and they rush back to the United States, and shortly after their return, his mother succumbed to her illness. Six weeks later, his father passed away to unable to live his life without the love of his. 

Though Mickie and Sam have gotten into a routine, Sam is still wanting to marry Mickie, but she is hesitant. After she leaves for a conference in Mexico but then seemingly goes missing, Sam is devastated. He thinks that she is leaving him, but then she returns. She tells him that she and his mother had the adoption process escalated, and that Fernado is going to be their son. Sam asks again if Mickie will marry him in which this time she agrees after confessing that she will be unable to give him any biological children after having a hysterectomy. 

They are able to begin their life, the three of them, together. And Sam feels his faith returning to him slowly. 

Discussion Questions 

1. Samuel Hill was born with ocular albinism, which makes his pupils red, causing children to tease him and call him Devil Boy. Throughout his many trials and tribulations, Sam’s mother consistently assures him, “God gave you extraordinary eyes, Samuel, because he intends for you to lead an extraordinary life.” Parents work to shield their children who are different. What did you think of her choosing to deal with her son’s condition this way? She was doing exactly what every mother would do. We love our children unconditionally. She felt God sent her Sam for a reason, and she wholeheartedly believed that. Sam did not ask for his condition, nor did anyone else for that matter. His mother loved her son, just as she would have loved him if he had any other sort of disability or ailment. 

2. David Bateman becomes Sam’s nemesis in grade school. Can you recall a bully from your youth? How did you deal with him or her? What do you think of Sam’s handling of David? Sam handled David the best way he knew how. He fought back, got beat up for it, and then never had to deal with him again until he was an adult at which point he was no longer afraid of him. But, I was bullied as a child as well, though I can’t recall just one or even two. Yes, it hurt. But, I just moved on with my life. My bullies were never like David. 

3. Ernie and Mickie prove to be loyal friends to Sam. What is the thread that bonds the three? Think of friends from your own childhood. Why do those particular friends stand out? They were all misfits in their own way: Ernie for being black, Sam for being born with red eyes and Mickie for being considered promiscuous. None of them fit the bill of a Catholic in the eyes of the church to the people of the school(s) they attended. But, they were, after all, God’s children, therefore they were accepted into the school(s) until Mickie ultimately had to go to the public school for being expelled from the Catholic school. 

4. Sam describes how the kids are divided at St. Joes: “kids were lumped into groups. You had your jocks, the nerds, the dorks, and the stoners. I straddled the line between nerds, dorks and jocks, with jock being the most tenuous.” What group did you belong to in high school? Thinking of those who were in particular groups when you went to high school, where are they now? Do you think that what happened with them in high school had an impact on the people who they are now? How was high school changed since Sam’s school days, or has it? I didn’t belong to one particular group. I was friends with everyone and anyone. I mainly hung out with the same friends that I had in middle school, as we attended a smaller school than the others we joined in high school, so we were tight, the majority of us having gone to the same school together since Kindergarten. But, I didn’t discriminate against people. I was friends with anyone who wanted to be friends with me. 

5. Coach Moran is on the horns of a dilemma concerning Sam and the basketball team. Do you agree with the way he handled the situation? How did this turn out to be a positive thing for Sam? I do agree with it. He knew that Sam was the hardest working player on his team, despite not being particulary good at it. He left it up to Sam to decide if he wanted to play or to write on the paper. It worked out for him, as he was able to still attend Ernie’s game, but he was able to write for them while being able to bring in some extra cash to help him save for college. It was a win/win for everyone involved. 

6. Who are Sam’s mentors? What sort of impact did each have on young Sam? Who do you think had the most impact on him? Do you think that Sam also had an impact on his mentors? I don’t recall him having anyone in particular; maybe Dr. Priedmore, his opthamologist. He ended up walking in his foot steps and becoming an eye doctor after having to visit him every year to have his eyes checked. 

7. No stranger to hardship or disappointment, Sam is heartbroken when he loses out on being chosen valedictorian, despite his excellent grades. Do you think his reaction was justified? Why or why not? And was Ernie right to town down the honor? I absolutely think his reaction is justified. It was something that he was looking forward to, and had worked very hard for, and because of his condition, felt that it was taken away from him much like a lot of things that happened in his life. Despite it being a great honor for Ernie, Ernie knew he hadn’t earned it the same way that Sam had, and his decision to turn it down was unsurprising. 

8. Sam tries to be pragmatic: “reality could be painful...my reality was that I was not going to live some extraordinary life, as my mother fervently believed, and prayed for.” Do you think that Sam feels betrayed by his mother’s staunch faith in him? No, I don’t. He wanted to believe her, but despite nothing happening in an extraordinary fashion, he would never have felt betrayed by his mother. Their bond was too strong. 

9. The stroke that Sam’s father suffers tests Sam’s faith in a myriad of ways. Can you recall a time when you faced a crisis of faith? I’m not particularly religious in any way. I attended a non-denominational church as a child, but we stopped going though I can’t recall why. My kids are not baptized or christened, and neither was I. I believe in a higher power, something that I can’t explain, but I don’t believe in organized religion. 

10. After high school, Sam finally decides to get colored contact lenses. Talk about this as a decision for him. How are they a mixed blessing for him? He will be able to leave a relatively normal life without having to explain his eyes to people. But, at some point, it will come up again to someone he is seeing, like Eva. 

11. Years later, Sam has to decide whether or not to be the doctor for the daughter of David Bateman. What are your feelings about his wrestling with this? What would you have done in his position? I understand his reservations. If he helps her, David Bateman isn’t going to be grateful but if he doesn’t, he’ll try to use it against Sam. But, he took an oath to help those in need, and ultimately decides to help her despite those reservations he had. 

12. How has Sam’s life come full circule after meeting young Fernando in Costa Rica? Why is it important to him to stop wearing his contacts? He realizes that he wants to show Fernado that having an eye condition isn’t something that he needs to be wary of. It’s about accepting yourself. 

13. The novel easily could have been called Have Faith, Samuel. What do you think the novel says about faith and forgiveness? How does each character struggle with faith? Everyone has their struggles. Mickie ultimately didn’t believe in religious and lost faith after his parents divorced. Sam lost his faith after his father had a stroke, and he realized that all the praying that he and his family did meant nothing after that. Ernie’s faith isn’t really discussed but Ernie was particularly blessed in terms of his sport abilities and how he was able to play for the NFL. 

14. Sam Hill has seen his share of life’s highs and lows. Do you think his life was truly extraordinary? I absolutely do. This book had a hold on me that doesn’t happen very often. It was like watching a movie play in my head, and I really wish they would turn this book into a movie. It would do the world some good to see this on a big screen, I think. 

Definitely 5/5 stars for this one! 

[gucciwins]

Golden Sparks 

Harry is new to town and signs up his eight-year-old daughter, Josie to the soccer team where he takes an interest in the well-respected Coach Y/N.

Word count: 25,027 

A/N: Hello friends! I hope you’ve been well, honestly I had this idea for a while and it wasn’t until I stepped back from another piece and came back this one that it began to flow. im proud of what I wrote and I hope you enjoy. my longest piece to date :) I do hope you all love it. 

Warnings: sweet dad harry, slight angst, slight smut

please do let me know what you thought of the story and please reblog! <333

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"You're going to do great."

"I know, dad." Harry's eight-year-old daughter responds.

"Hey, I'm being supportive." Harry shakes Josie's foot, causing her to laugh.

"Thank you, I'm excited. Honest." Josie puts her hand over her heart, making Harry's heart melt.

He hadn't seen his daughter smile this much since they found out about the tryout that was soon to start in fifteen minutes. He felt awful making her move from their home in Georgia, but it was time, and this new opportunity would be good for them. Josie hated to leave her friends but mostly her soccer team with whom she had been with since she started playing at the age of five, but Harry promised he would find her a team, and he did.

The team was different from back home, seeing as it was an all-girl team instead of a mixed team of boys and girls. Not that he minds; he feels this will hopefully allow Josie to branch out and make friends that would not pick on her for playing what they said was "a boy's game." Those parents pissed him off back in Georgia, but he's gone, and he prays this goes well.

"Do you think mom will visit my games more now that we're closer?" Josie's green eyes peer up at him, reminding him that she looks nothing like her mother and is his little clone.

"I hope so. She was excited to hear about the move, remember." Josie nods before glancing at the field where other girls were chatting as they laced up their cleats.

Harry despised his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his child. At the age of nineteen, he became a father, and his ex, three years older than him, didn't want to raise a child to a man who wouldn't marry her. They were together for two months when he called it quits until she came back a month later, calling him an asshole for getting her pregnant. After giving birth to his beautiful girl, she gave him full custody, not wanting to worry about diapers and night cries.

All she worried about was getting her figure back. It wasn't until Josie turned one that she came back and demanded to be part of her life, leading to them going to court and getting to see Josie on the weekends, and it went well because his daughter always came back happy after a visit. When Josie turned five, Claudia moved to California because she fell in love and was going to get married. Claudia didn't care that she was leaving Josie behind. A heartbroken girl not knowing why she couldn't be part of her mother's wedding and why she moved across the country so far from her.

Josie cried for a whole week straight until the ice skates showed up on the front door with a note from Claudia for Josie to chase her dreams. Thus, having Harry sign her up for ice skating classes came to an end in two short weeks when she learned how awful the leotards looked on her.

Josie was then determined to find a sport liking the idea of being active and having the chance to make friends, which led to her seeing soccer on the TV when a commercial of Alex Morgan for Nike came on. She asked question after question until Harry told her okay, and went to call a friend to see where he could find a team for her.

The first team they found was only boys, not wanting to mix, causing both of them to get upset, but a mom took pity on them and told them of the Sunnyville team looking for players. It was perfect; seven girls and eight boys were on the team, and Josie fit in perfectly until she didn't.

At first, Josie wasn't very good; no kid is, but Harry every night took her to their large backyard and practiced with her, and within a few months, she was able to dribble a ball at her feet without looking down constantly. She wasn't the best, but she was improving.

Harry enjoyed every minute he got to help her improve because within the next few years, he saw her go from being timid to push someone away from the ball to beating someone in a sprint.

California was a significant change for Harry and Josie, but this was a big deal for the company, and Josie understood. He was happy he could do something for her now it was her turn to shine and prove why she deserved a spot on the team.

"Now go prove why you're the best, petal." Harry kisses his daughter's forehead, taking her bag over his shoulder.

She takes a step forward before stopping. "Walk with me there, daddy."

Harry's smile softens, "Of course, honey."

They march forward, their steps in sync; Harry can feel eyes on both of them as they pass parents in their chairs, some sitting on blankets spread out on the grass.

There's a woman, dressed in black Nike sweats, some fancy Nike cleats on her feet and a plain maroon tank top and over to cover from the breeze is a windbreaker; the team logo on the left side over her heart and right under is a name he can't quite make out. If Harry's being honest, she took his breath away, she's gorgeous, and she's smiling at him. Harry's sure if he kept looking into her eyes, he would fall in love.

"Hello, I'm Coach Y/N." She greets them with a big smile on their face.

"Hi, I'm Josie, and this is my dad, Harry Styles." Josie steps forward, holding her hand out that the coach is quick to shake.

"Nice to meet you." Harry finally speaks.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Styles. I've got all the paperwork that you submitted, and everything looks good."

"That's great." Harry nods, keeping his eyes on her. "Just Harry is fine, please." She nods, letting him know she heard him.

"Nice accent, you English?" Y/N asks.

"I am, Josie was born there too, but she's lived in the states all her life."

Y/N nods, "No wonder I didn't spot an accent on her." She teases.

"My dad sounds funny, so one of us is okay." Josie jokes at Harry's expense.

"Hey now," Harry pouts, causing both to laugh and his heart to flutter, wanting to make Y/N do it again.

"Now, Josie, how about we introduce you to the girls before we get started."

Josie nods and steps forward to follow Y/N.

Y/N addresses him one last time, "You're welcome to sit by the parents or welcome to stand behind our bench on the sidelines."

"Thank you." Harry watches the walk away, his daughter's bright pink socks standing out around the flash of black, green, and blue. He smiles, knowing he'll have a good eye on her, as will the coach.

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It has been a while since the team had a tryout for the Golden Sparks team. It has not been necessary because most of the young girls are already on the u-9 team.

She had heard the rumor of new people moving into town but wasn't sure, so on a whim, she added them up in places parents were bound to see them; at the grocery store, doctor's office, the school, and the local sports store.

Thanks to the flyers, they got two responses from Mr. Styles and Mrs. Clover, who wanted their girls to join. Mrs. Clover's daughter, Caitlyn, was switching over from a different team, so she knew the girls on the team well. Josie, the daughter of Mr. Styles, would be the only one who needed an introduction as she was new to the town.

After meeting Harry, she was surprised at how handsome and young he was. Most parents here are well over the age of thirty and are married or dating.

She has been coaching for four years now and only started because of her niece Juliet who is part of the team. Y/N's older sister, Clara, had Juliet at 23 a year after her wedding and when Y/N was only 18 and about to start university. It was a good thing she had decided to go to university only three hours away and not across the country as she first thought, or she would have missed so much of her niece's and goddaughter's life.

Y/N had just graduated and knew she would no longer be playing soccer and needed something to do when her sister Naomi approached her and asked her if she could watch over Juliet for the summer so they didn't need to get a babysitter. She was more than happy to accept.

At first, they would paint, color and dance, but they got bored quickly. Y/N wasn't one to spend her time inside, so instead, she decided to take her four-year-old niece to the park with a soccer ball and make the most of it.

At the local park, they both ran around each day, chasing the ball for hours. A week later, Y/N bought Juliet her first pair of cleats, letting her shoot in the nets. As the weeks went by Y/N, saw Juliet improve as well as take direction well. She was a bright young girl, and Y/N knew she was still small, and all she wanted to do was run, but Y/N knew that because Juliet had seen her play, she knew what was right and wrong. There were times when she just ran in circles picking flowers because, after all, she was a four-year-old.

A month into summer, a mom approached her, asking her if she was a coach because she saw her there every day. Y/N laughed it off and told her she was just taking care of her niece. The mom told her it was a shame because her daughter told her it looked like fun. Y/N smiled and said to her that she was welcome to join, and before she knew it, a bunch of little girls came together to kick a ball around.

Only when Y/N had over ten girls showing up every Monday and Wednesday at a designated time did she begin to look at soccer leagues for children, and to her luck, there was one in town, an all-girls league that started from age 4 to age 18. She got the paperwork required for her to be a coach and for the girl's parents to fill out. She pitched the idea, and everyone was aboard.

That is how Golden Sparks was created, and those four-year-olds are now eight. She has watched them grow in front of her eyes. She went through her master's coaching a team. It's just something she does as a hobby, and it's wonderful because she knows how vital her coaches were for her when she was growing up. Now she can do the same.

She loves these girls, which means she had to do trial runs for how well the new girls fit in with the team dynamic. That is why today is an important day for Caitlyn and Josie.

"Ladies, may I please have your attention?" Y/N calls out to all the girls trying to juggle their individual balls as they wait for her.

The girls quickly shuffle over, passing their balls to Kate, who is setting up both nets and getting out the bright pink pinnies that Emilia's parents donated to the team that the girls will be needing.

Josie is standing very close to Y/N, and Caitlyn comes to stand to her other side.

"Now, today's practice is going to be different. We have two guests today. We have Caitlyn, who comes from Ice Angels from across town, and Josie, who comes from Georgia all the way across the country. I hope you will be kind and welcoming because we would be honored to add them to the team."

Juliet raises her hand and smiles, waiting for Y/N to let her speak. "Yes, Miss Juliet," Y/N giggles.

"Can we say something interesting about ourselves when we introduce ourselves?"

"Now, that is a smart idea. I wish I would have thought about it." All the girls smile, waiting for her to share.

"I'll start, I guess." She puts her hand on her hip, exaggerating her thinking face. "My name is Y/N, and I'll be your coach, and something interesting is that I like to paint." She turns to Kate, who is standing there, arms crossed. "You're next."

"I'm Kate, the meaner coach,"

"Kate," Y/N chastise.

"Kidding," Kate laughs, capturing all of the girls' attention. "I'm the assistant coach, and I love making tamales. Next potluck, you'll know how amazing they are."

Kate volunteers Steph, standing next to her, allowing her to share, and before she knows it, all the girls have gone. It's a calm environment, and Y/N is happy she can help these girls be a part of that. There were a total of fourteen girls, sixteen now with the two new girls trying out, meaning they would have even teams of eight, just one more than in an actual game.

Y/N makes two teams by dividing her forwards, midfielders and defenders. Then the scrimmage vest were handed out to the team where the new girls were trying out.

"Four twelve-minutes quarters," Y/N shouts, and in the next second, Kate blows the whistle, and they begin.

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Harry was sweating, his focus was on Josie and how well she was playing, but he also noticed how the coach was whispering to her assistant coach. They were doing a lot of talking, and he did not like it one bit. They had finished two quarters and took a more extended break before the third, where Josie shot him a thumbs up after drinking water. She was too busy talking to a girl to come see him. Harry was happy she no longer felt nervous and was making friends.

He had heard nothing but good things about Golden Sparks and their coaches, but he was nervous about what they thought of his daughter. When they blew that final whistle, Harry let out the breath he was holding. Thankful that Josie would be told her fate on the team.

The coaches rounded them up, and Harry just wanted to rush over there and have them tell him there and then, but no, they were dragging it out for him. Then again, they had more than one player to look after for.

"Golden Sparks!"

It was shouted out by all the girls, and they rushed over to their bags. Josie walked to her bag, handing her pinnie to the assistant coach while Coach Y/N made her way over to another parent. A young girl with a long french braid made her way to the coach, most likely to talk about her fate on the team. Harry moves his gaze away from them when he spots Josie chatting away to a girl about her age, wearing a black top with the team's logo on it. Usually, after practice, she rushes over to Harry, and she slips out of her cleats in the car. It makes him emotional seeing her make friends, something she didn't have many in her previous team.

Before he knows it, the coach talks with Josie and the other young girl before she nods and gets up, swinging her bag over her shoulder. The three of them make their way over to Harry, chatting softly, not allowing him to hear a word.

"Hi, petal. Did well out there." Harry tells his daughter once she's an arm's length away. He frowns when she doesn't rush into his arms to give him a hug.

"Yeah, it was fun. Everyone is so kind." Josie smiles at her father.

"Mr. Styles," Y/N begins, but Harry has to interrupt.

"Harry, please."

"Sure, Harry," she emphasizes. "Josie is a wonderful player."

"I agree."

"But," Harry frowns, knowing this is not going where he would like it to. "Josie tends to hold the ball too much. When given the opportunity to use her left, she takes that extra pass to switch to her right where it causes her to lose momentum and the opening."

"I get it, she's not perfect, but neither are those players out there."

"Dad." Josie gives him a glare to be quiet and listen.

"As I was saying," Coach Y/N, her voice just a bit less friendly. "She has flaws, but we noticed she has lots of speed; she controls the ball really well. She's stellar in the midfield."

Harry shifts his eyes to Josie, who is holding back a smile, and that is when he knows she's in. "We'd love to have her join the team and help her become an even better player."

"That's wonderful, I accept."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I'm glad you think it's a good idea, but it's Josie's choice to make."

"You're right. I'm sorry. Josie, honey." He steps back, a tad embarrassed.

Josie lets out a nervous laugh, "I had fun."

"How long have you played?" Y/N asks Josie.

"Three years now," Josie says, looking at Harry for confirmation and nods.

"The most important question is how you felt playing with everyone?" Y/N knows how important feeling welcomed to a team can mean to someone.

Josie looks up at her, a smile on her face. "Like I belonged."

"Does that mean you're joining?" The young girl standing behind Y/N answers.

"Yes. I would love to join." Josie says, a grin taking over her face.

"Well then, welcome. Practices are 5-7pm. Sometimes we can have a scrimmage with other teams, and it will be an hour before or after just to take that into consideration. Games are on Saturday, but when we have tournaments, they are Saturday and Sunday."

"That's great. I sometimes get out of work late." Harry confesses.

"It's why practices are later because we know parents work. So just shoot us a text the day before or early morning, and either Kate or I can pick them up as well as other parents. We're great with carpooling."

Harry smiles; he likes how organized they are. He has no worries about Josie joining the team. He's happy, and if he's honest, he is kind of glad to see more of Coach Y/N.

"It was great to meet you, and I'll see you on Monday for practice," Y/N tells both Harry and Josie.

As they are going to walk away, the young girl in two dutch braids speaks, "Auntie Y/N truly is the best. She's the reason I play so well." Juliet tells Harry.

Y/N blushes, "Knock it off. Save the sweet-talk for Kate."

"She's your aunt!" Josie explains. "That's so cool."

"Harry, this is Juliet, my niece and the reason this team exists. I introduced her to the sport at age four."

Juliet nods, "Yeah, because she didn't want to rotten my head with television."

This causes all of them to laugh. Harry and Josie walk away with a smile on both their faces.

Yeah, they would fit just right in. It was beginning to feel like home.

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It's been a month since Josie joined the team, and he's never seen her shine as much as she has since she joined the group. It's like she's a whole new little girl, he hates to admit it, but his little girl is growing right in front of his eyes.

They had recently had a team bonding; they headed to Kate's house to swim and do a little bonfire. Parents were allowed to stick around, but almost none did because they want their daughters to feel comfortable hanging out with their friends and be themselves. Also, all the parents trusted Kate and Y/N with their daughters because of the years of friendship.

Harry wanted to stay the first time, a bit fearful she wouldn't like it and also because he wanted to get to know Josie's coach better. He hadn't had many chances to chat her up, always getting a formal greeting and a goodbye. Harry can proudly say he has a crush on coach Y/N, but he wants to have a chance to take her out and maybe take it further.

Josie begged and begged him not to stay, so he just did a quick hello and then left. What did he do in the four hours his daughter was gone, nothing. He was bored without her. Harry began to watch a movie he'd been dying to see, but it was boring. He went to call his best mate, but it went straight to voicemail, then remembered it was date night for Mitch.

He couldn't drink because he wanted to pick Josie up even though he knew she could carpool, but he wanted to hear all about it right away and maybe get one more glance at Y/N because she looked lovely in her pastel pink shirt, black leggings, and a matching scrunchie. His feelings only grew each time he saw her, but he wouldn't dare pursue anything because his daughter adored Y/N, and he wouldn't do anything to wreck that.

It was Monday, and he was driving his daughter to practice. She was on a high because she spent the weekend with her mom. Claudia managed to make her soccer game and then took her home for the week. Everyone got an insight of his ex and how she was not the kindest, but sure did adore her husband by the way she kissed him the majority of that game. Harry did not want to sit next to them, but she wanted to flaunt her relationship in his face to his luck. Not that he cared one bit, he just cared about his daughter's happiness. That she happened to be a part of.

After they won the game, she sprinted over to them after Y/N congratulated them on the win, and they finished shaking the other team's hands. Josie wrapped her arms around Harry, squeezing him tight before hugging her mother, who just patted her back before letting her go congratulating on her goal.

Claudia's interactions with Josie always made Harry upset, but what was he to do? She gave him full custody and only saw her on weekends. It was easy living, but that doesn't mean he had to like it. He wanted his daughter to have a mother figure to guide her and show her the right and wrong to show her what it is like to be strong and resilient, yet Claudia was none of that for his daughter. Sarah, Josie's godmother, did more of that, and Harry was thankful.

Showing up to practice, Harry was embarrassed and hoped Y/N didn't bring up meeting his ex-girlfriend. Josie was quick to introduce them, but thankfully the conversation didn't last long as she was called over by the other team's coach.

"Can you drive any slower?" Josie pouted, looking out the window as Harry entered the parking lot at a safe speed in case any person happened to cross in front of him.

"Josie, I'm not trying to run anyone over." Harry sighs as he finally eyes an open parking space and signals left, always cautious about an accident.

"Well, I want to talk with my friends before practice." Josie has unbuckled herself and is close to throwing herself out of the car.

Harry puts the car into park, unlocking the car door. "Fly, young one."

The grin that takes over Josie makes Harry happy. "Love you, dad."

"Love you too, Josie."

Harry slides his sunglasses on, hating how bright the sun was; it'd be a few hours until the sunset. He was nervous; he was dressed in black slacks that hugged him in all the right places with a mint button-down shirt that calls attention. He didn't have time to change today; everyone saw him in his casual clothes, never his work attire. Josie said she didn't mind, but he did. Honestly, he was nervous about what Y/N might say about his look. Not that he cared what she thought. Not one bit, right?

He went to his trunk, got out his purple folding chair, and left the matching one there. Harry is a sucker for deals which is why he walked out of the store with two when he only needed one.

He strolled, making sure no eyes were on him, and he was in the clear until he heard a shout, "Dad!" He looked over at the field, and it was Josie waving at him to sit closer to the parents. Harry shot her a thumbs up; he liked the parents genuinely. They have all been so kind and welcoming, telling him the best places to go for the team's discount.

He got along well with Payton's and Stephanie's parents. They had a good sense of humor and liked asking him questions about where he was from and how Josie was growing up. His daughter had become best friends with Juliet. They were two peas in a pod, talking from the beginning of practice to staying almost ten minutes after as they slowly took off their cleats.

Y/N didn't mind seeing as she had to pick up everything, and the girls were eager to help her if it meant spending more time together. Honestly, she was begging for a sleepover, but he kept telling her no because he wanted to meet at least one of her parents first. He wasn't sure what either one did, but Juliet didn't mind if they couldn't make it to a game because her biggest supporter was already there.

Harry approaches where all the parents sit under a shaded tree, waving at everyone before taking a seat next to a man reading on his kindle. He smiled, knowing he loved reading in his downtime as well. This would be an excellent spot to sit, conversation or not he'd be comfortable, but first, an introduction was needed.

"Hello, don't mean to bother you, but I don't think I've seen you before. I'm Harry Styles. My daughter Josie joined the team last month."

"Well, Harry Styles, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard wonderful things about your daughter. I'm Xavier Torres, father of Juliet." Xavier responded with a bright smile on his face.

Harry doesn't hide his surprise. "I've been dying to meet her parents. She's a wonderful girl, glad our daughters decided to get along."

"Yeah, we come as often as we can, but Juliet always assures us she's fine. That she has the best auntie watching over her."

"Coach Y/N is great with everyone. I've never seen anyone so dedicated." Harry shares.

"She's always been like that. I met Clara in my second year of university. She was only fourteen then, but she was so caring. I wasn't introduced to the family until we've been dating for six months, and she was shy but always offered me water or cookies she had baked. I loved having conversations with her; she has always been the smartest person in the room."

Harry grins; this definitely grew his crush on Y/N.

"I hear they are begging for a sleepover," Xavier comments, breaking Harry from his thoughts.

Harry nods, "Yes, I kept saying no because I wanted to meet the parents."

Xavier smiles, agreeing they were the same. "Yeah, we had to meet the dad."

He's shocked Xavier doesn't ask him about a partner, but then again, Y/N could have easily mentioned meeting Claudia and her husband. Harry's grateful if she did not like having to explain how he's a single dad and how he wishes his daughter's mother would do better.

"Well, now that this has happened, I have no problem with a sleepover happening."

"Glad we're on the same page." Harry laughs, grateful, their daughters will be happy with them.

Harry and Xavier spend the entire two hours of practice talking. Harry has close friends, but he wouldn't be opposed to adding Xavier to his guys' nights that happen less frequently now. At the end of practice, they exchange numbers and promise to coordinate a date for the girls. It may be summer, but the girls are still keeping busy during the week instead of doing nothing.

The girls rush over to them at the end of practice, giggling at the two fathers still chatting away.

"Does this mean a sleepover can happen?" Juliet asks, squeezing Josie's hand she's holding.

Harry and Xavier share a look and nod. "Yeah, it can happen."

"Amazing!" Josie cheers jumping up and down.

"We have to plan a day that works for both of us, so it may be a while." Josie frowns but nods. Juliet does not accept it.

"Auntie Y/N can host it."

"Your auntie is going to do what?" Y/N says, sneaking up behind her tickling her sides.

Juliet lets out a loud shriek, not being able to escape her grip. Harry beams at Y/N loving how playful she is with her niece.

"You can host our sleepover. You aren't busy like daddy and Mr. Styles." Juliet says in one breath after Y/N let her go.

"I do have a job, you know," Y/n says in a sing-song voice. Xavier laughs as Juliet pouts. "But I do have more availability than your parents. I'd do it if both of you were comfortable with it." Y/N looks up at Harry and Xavier, letting them have the final say.

Xavier throws an arm over Y/N's shoulder and pulls her in a hug. "Of course, it's a yes; I'm always looking forward to a kid-free house."

"Rude, daddy." Juliet frowns, crossing her arms.

"Only joking, my little flower. How about frozen yogurt on the way home?"

"You're forgiven."

Y/N waits patiently for Harry to answer as he has a staring contest with his daughter.

He sighs, "Yes," Josie cheers, hugging Juliet. "Only if we're really not imposing on Y/N."

"Please, Harry. I'd be honored to have them over. I'm an excellent host, and my movie collection is amazing."

Juliet smiles. "She does, also the biggest backyard so we can run around and do whatever. There's also a pool." She whispers the last part.

"Enough speaking about my house. She'll get the tour soon enough."

"So it's settled," Harry tells them.

"Guess it is; send me when you guys decide. I'm free after twelve on Fridays, and I'll take them to the game on Saturday, of course, or we can do it after a game. All up to you, gents." Y/N gets it all out there, allowing Harry to breathe a little easier.

"Good," Xavier shouts.

"I'm going home, coming Julie?" As Xavier swings his chair over his shoulder. "Daddy, you have to help auntie Y/N. You just sat on your butt for two hours."

"Hey now, I watched you practice."

"I'm going to tell mommy, you know how she feels about you not helping Y/N. She'll give you an earful." Juliet sasses her dad.

"I don't know where you got all that sass from, but I know I'm going to hate it when you're a teenager," Xavier mumbles as he goes to get the goal nets put away.

Y/N laughs before turning to Harry and Josie, "I'll see you both on Wednesday. Have a good night."

Harry watches her walk away as she races Juliet over to the balls scattered around. He smiles at the ground, hoping he could one day make her laugh that much. He doesn't notice Josie watching him, and she grins, happy that maybe one day her daddy will smile as bright as Xavier does when speaking about Juliet's mom.

They walk hand in hand to the car, both comfortable walking in silence for what the future might bring them.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Y/N enjoyed morning games as opposed to the afternoon, where the sun was blazing high. She had a hat that was helping with the heat, thankful she hadn't started sweating yet. She loves coaching, but during the summer, it isn't the most enjoyable.

"Hi, Coach Y/N."

She turns her head over her shoulder and sees Harry approaching. She checks him out, thankful for her sunglasses; he's got a black short-sleeve button-down that shines in the sunlight, letting her know it's expensive; he paired it with white linen pants and the beat-up Vans he always wore. He always looks good.

"Nice to see you, Harry."

"How are you?"

"Doing good, bracing the summer heat."

"Yeah, not so enjoyable."

"Ready for the game," Harry says, pointing to the field that will soon have fourteen girls running around.

"Yes, they have been working hard. I'm excited, and you?"

"Oh, nervous," he confesses.

"The girls are going to do great. If they start dozing off, then we can start to worry."

Harry laughs, knowing that she is right. It's about the girl's focus.

"How long did you play?"

"Too long." Y/N jokes.

"Haha," he laughs.

"I started at six and played up until I finished university."

"Wow! You must have been marvelous." Harry is amazed that someone can play a sport that long then go to teaching. He was never the most athletic, but he was a beast at ping-pong that was all hand-eye coordination.

"I would like to think I was good."

"You started coaching when?"

"The year I turned four, and soon enough I was running, and by four she bought me my cleats and bam! A team was created." Juliet answered for her.

"I'm pretty sure you told Harry this already." Y/N laughs playfully, nudging Juliet.

Juliet shrugs, "Just like reminding."

Y/N grins, "Okay, lovebug."

"Plus, you're a great coach."

Harry nods. "I can attest to that. All the girls love you, including Josie."

"And I love them," she tells him truthfully. "We don't get many new players, but we're happy to have Josie. She earned the starting spot as right-wing."

Juliet nods, jumping up and down, "Yeah, she's really good."

"Go on, start the girl with four corners." Y/N pats Juliet's back to get her to go on the field.

"Yes, ma'am." Juliet takes off running, talking to Kate, who helps her get started, and Y/N knows it's her cue to walk away from Harry.

"Good luck, coach."

"Thank you, Harry. See you after."

"Sure, of course. I'll be cheering for you. I-i-i- what-" Harry stutters while she stands there holding back a smile as she can see the heat traveling up his face. "I mean you and the girls. A-all as a team."

"Well, we appreciate it."

Harry watches her walk away, letting out a short laugh, not being able to believe he made a fool of himself.

The game was tied 1-1 with only eight minutes left. Harry could see Y/N was calm, voice firm when speaking to the girls. Lola was about to take a corner kick, he saw her take a step back, and Harry was ready for her to strike it, but instead, she shocks him as she passes to a player who ran up to her.

This startles the other team before Brenda sends it to the center midfielder, who passes it to Josie, who is screaming she's open. Brenda sends a through ball, and off his daughter runs. She gets a foot on it, looking at where the goalie stands. She makes the pass strong enough that the goalie doesn't stop it and just for Andy to tip it in, but it's too strong, causing the ball to go over the net. It's a miss but, everyone didn't mind impressed with the play.

The last few minutes were slow as both teams were tired out, and there was no chance for another goal in two minutes. When the referee blows the final whistle, all the girls bring it in, jogging over to Y/N and Kate as they all round up in a group hug. Harry can't hear what she's saying, but he knows it's reasonable considering all the girls are sporting similar smiles. He is quick to pack up his chair, ready to say goodbye to his daughter, who is about to have a sleepover with her coach and best friend.

The girls come back from clapping the other team's hand and are quick to go sit on the bench and take their shoes off. The clean-up was accomplished quickly today. Harry is waiting to talk to Y/N as she speaks with other parents. Caitlyn's dad praises her for that play, but Y/N is quick to tell him it was all the girls; they are the players. Either way, he hugs her, and Y/N pats the older man back softly. She waves goodbye to most girls when he finally gets to approach her.

"Great game today."

"Yes, they played well." Y/N agrees.

"Your coaching reflects on them."

"In a good way?"

He nods, "The best way."

She thanks him, and he knows she's not one to be boastful, so he changes the conversation.

"You are still good to take them for the sleepover."

"Of course, I'm excited."

"That's great. What time should I pick her up tomorrow?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention earlier, my sister and brother-in-law are coming to have dinner if you'd like to join us. Xavier has been dying to use the grill, and you'll get to meet my sister and my nephew."

"Juliet never talks about a brother."

Y/N chuckles, "It's because he barely started walking, so he doesn't hold much of her attention."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"She loves being a big sister, but only when he sleeps or plays blocks."

"Older siblings got to love them."

"Yeah, I know."

"Do you have a sibling?"

"I do. She's 35 and lives in London and runs a law firm. Total badass."

"I bet she is."

"If she ever stops and visits, please bring her around and would love to get all the dirt on young Harry Styles."

"Only if I get to do the same."

"Stop by Sunday, and you'll get the chance." She shrugs at him as she walks away.

"See you Sunday then." Harry shakes his head smiling as she grabs a bag of soccer balls and begins walking to the parking lot.

Josie runs over and gives him a big hug. "See you tomorrow, daddy."

"Bye honey, call me if you need anything."

"Sure, I love you." She yells as she runs to Y/N and Juliet, who are waiting for her at the end of the grass.

Harry knows she's in good hands, but his heart can't help but miss his little girl. He'll see her tomorrow and Y/N as well. He ignored how hard his heart was thumping at his interaction with Y/N instead of letting himself get lost in the idea of the beautiful afternoon that was to come tomorrow.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Y/N had a great time with the girls. She promised she would let them do their own thing and just supervise, but both girls wanted her involved. As soon as they arrived at her house, Juliet gave Josie a tour of her home, taking her room to room before they ended up in the backyard, both dressed in their bathing suits to go swimming.

She couldn't help but laugh, knowing how eager they were to go jump in the pool despite playing an intense game for an hour in the blazing sun.

"You little ladies must eat first before you can even think of swimming," Y/N says, arms crossed over her chest, knowing Juliet was going to try to fight her on it.

"Auntie, that's not what we want to do."

"Maybe so, but your tummy's say otherwise."

Josie steps over from behind Juliet to stand next to her. "I would like to eat. Dad says we need to regain all the energy we worked off."

"Your dad is a smart man, Jo." Y/N nods to the girl. "It's a 2-1 vote, then."

"Fine," Juliet groans dramatically.

The girls sit at the table as Y/n begins to boil pasta. She decides on pesto as she has had a craving, and both girls happily agree. In just thirty minutes, she serves the girls two even plates, and they have a flowing conversation. Mainly, Josie and Juliet do the talking, occasionally asking YN her opinion or a question they want her to answer.

After the late lunch, she sends the girls to wash up and meet her outside to lather them in sunscreen. She puts most of her dishes in the dishwasher and soaks her pans in water, wanting it to be easier to wash later when the girls give her a free moment.

"Thirty minutes we are waiting," Y/N tells them, the sun lotion bottle in hand.

"Come on, you believe in that?" Juliet asks.

"Okay, little miss rebel, since when do you always question everything I say." Juliet's eyes go wide, and she shrugs.

"Alright, listen. I adore you, Juliet, but it's not nice trying to take advantage of me because you have a friend over."

Y/N waits for her to say something, but she nods her head and moves to hug her around her waist. She hears her mutter a sorry, and when Y/N brushes her hair back, she sees Juliet move back to look up at her. "I'm sorry."

Y/N gives her a small smile. "It's alright. Now sit down so I can get your back."

Josie patiently waits her turn, and just as Y/N finishes Juliet, she speedwalks to the edge of the steps and sits on them, letting her feet get soaked. Josie sits patiently as Y/N spreads the sunscreen to her shoulders, then turns her to get her face and neck, allowing Josie to rub it into her legs.

"All done, Josie." She stays seated on Y/N's patio chairs under the shade. Y/N doesn't question her not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Is it okay if I go join Juliet?" Josie asks in a soft voice.

Y/N almost awes out loud at how polite Juliet is, "Of course, go on. I'll let you know when it's okay to go in."

Looking out at the spacious yard, Y/N frowns, getting lost in thought about how she has the perfect home, but it gets lonely. It might be time she looks into getting a pet. She'll have to go check the local shelter soon but knows she should think about it for a while longer.

The ringer of her phone tears her out of her head when she hears the splashing, "Is it, time auntie?"

"Yeah, sweetie, it is."

Quickly she swipes three pairs of goggles from the table just as she begins to hear their splashing paired with laughter.

"Are we playing mermaids, auntie?" Josie asks as Y/N steps into the water, relaxing in the cool water, not suffering from the heat.

"We sure are," Y/N raises the three goggles and hands over one to each of them.  

It's after two hours that they all emerge from the pool, deciding to head into the shower seeing as the sun has begun to set. She ushers them carefully to the shower letting Josie use the guest room and Juliet her room seeing as they are the only two rooms fully equipped with towels and shampoo.

After the three of them are clean and changed in the pj's, Y/N makes popcorn to snack on while they play a few board games. They switch from Uno to Candyland to Mancala. It goes on for a while until they decide to put on a movie deciding on Tangled.

It wasn't until a quarter to ten that Moana watched Maui sing "Your Welcome," they began to yawn and started trying to fight back to sleep. Y/N thought they would never go down to sleep because two eight-year-olds have too much energy. Y/N paused the movie and told them it was time to sleep. Neither girl put up an argument.

She guided them to the guest room that had become Juliet's over the years. The girls get tucked into bed after brushing their teeth.

"Thank you for a great day, Y/N," Josie whispers, grabbing her wrist, halting her, tucking their blanket.

Y/N smiles at the kind girl. "Of course, sweetie. It's been a joy having you here."

Y/N goes to Juliet, gives her a kiss on the forehead, whispering a quiet goodnight who already has her eyes closed, her breathing slow and steady. She goes to Josie, who's looking at her with wide eyes. "Would you be okay with a forehead kiss goodnight? I don't want to make you uncomfortable." Y/N addresses the young girl.

Little does Y/N know that small comment was enough for Josie to seal Y/N in her heart forever for her kindness. "Yes, please." Bright green eyes look up at her with a small smile as she gives her a soft kiss.

"Goodnight, Y/N."

"Night, Jo."

Y/N goes to her room and does her night routine taking extra steps due to getting more sun exposure today. She loves how she feels putting on moisturizer at the end of the night. She lays in bed under her soft white covers. Her eyes shut, and she begins to count backward. She reaches all the way to one and tries again but stops halfway, sighing, knowing there's no chance she'll sleep; she heads to the kitchen to make herself a tea.

With her chamomile tea in hand, she sets it on the chrysanthemum coaster on the side table, picks up the book she left there, and sets it in her lap as she turns on her television to Netflix, deciding on The Great British Baking Show to use as white noise. She presses play on where she last left off, forgetting the book in her lap as the bakers had to make a raised game pie for their signature.

Y/N had already watched collection three, but it was one of her favorites. She loved the bakers and liked watching Nadiya improve each episode. The technical challenge was getting started, the bakers reading their vague instructions to make the tennis fruit cake when she heard small steps down the stairs.

She turns around, spotting Josie making her way down, "Hi there, you alright?"

Josie just nods but continues towards her, joining her to sit on the couch. "Can't sleep?" Y/N asks to share her lavender throw blanket with Josie.

"Not really."

"Yeah, I get restless sometimes as well."

Josie stares, tilting her head as if trying to figure out why she can't sleep, "What do you do to try to sleep?"

"Well, I usually try to read a book in bed, but I decided tea and a bit of tv would help."

Josie nods, and Y/N can tell she's working up the courage to ask her something. "Can I please try with you?"

"Of course, would you like tea as well?"

"Chamomile?"

"Sure, that's what I was drinking."

"Daddy adds a bit of honey."

Y/N smiles, "Honey, I can do that."

She goes to the kitchen alone, getting Josie her favorite mug with bees scattered all around. As soon as she's done making her tea and checking it is at a suitable temperature, she brings it out to her. Y/N sees Josie has put play on the show.

Y/N just grins, happy the girl likes the show as well. "Have you seen this season?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, me too."

"Nadiya is excellent," Josie comments as Nadiya wins first in the technical challenge.

"She is! I'm glad they picked her as the winner though she had strong competition against Ian and Tamal."

Both Y/N and Josie sit there in silence, sipping their teas, watching the bakers now try to make Charlotte Russe cakes for the showstopper. It's not until the presentation begins that Josie breaks their comfortable silence.

"Why can't you sleep?"

"Well, uhh, sometimes I can't get my brain to shut down and have lots of thoughts swirling around."

"Oh," Josie responds. "Do they ever stop?"

"Yeah, usually when I count backward or tell myself a story."

Josie looks delighted at hearing Y/N sharing this with her. "What kind of story?"

"A sweet one, one my grandparents used to tell me, or I make one up."

"And it works?"

"Almost always."

Josie continues with her questions, but Y/N doesn't mind. "Do you get bad dreams?"

"Not always, but sometimes, do you, Jo?"

Josie smiles, "I like that."

"What?" Y/N says, puzzled, aware she avoided the question.

"Jo, dad calls me honey, darling, Josie and Josephine when I do something I'm not supposed to, but no one ever has said, Jo. I like it."

"Oh, I'm glad. It's alright that I keep calling you that then."

Josie repeatedly nods, "Of course."

Y/N looks back at the TV focusing on the new episode that started during the talk.

"Sometimes I dream I'm back in Georgia with daddy." Josie is looking down at her lap, where she draws a circle on the palm of her left hand with her right index finger.

"Yeah, how does that make you feel?"

"Sad sometimes and sometimes happy."

"Why is that?" Y/N asks in a soft voice.

"Well, mommy called me more when I lived farther away. Now I don't get to see her every weekend even though that's the deal. She doesn't even like watching me play."

"That must be tough, Jo. Have you shared this with your dad?"

Josie shakes her head no. "He'd get mad at mom, and I don't want anyone fighting."

"Don't think it's fighting. Your dad just wants the best for you and wants your mom to see that as well."

"I guess."

"Did you know I've visited Georgia?"

"You have?" Josie sits up, crawling closer to her, excited at the change in conversation.

Y/N nods, "My grandparents had family there, so every summer, we'd make our way there. Spent all our time at the lake or just walking through the woods. They lived in a secluded area, so lots to roam."

"We lived in the city."

"I bet you still went to neat places."

Josie thinks about it for a minute, "We did, the weekends were for the lake, and it was easy to drive to another state for a week."

Y/N laughs, knowing how exciting it was visiting a new state in a matter of hours compared to how hard it is in California. "Yeah, I liked that as well."

"What's your favorite memory?"

Y/N stops to think about it; it has been a while since she thought back to her times there. She hasn't had the chance to go back since her grandparents passed away.

"The fireflies. I remember we were in one of my uncle's backyard, and he was showing us his peaches. When I saw a buzz of light followed by another, and soon enough, they were all around us. My uncle tells me he'll never forget the look on my face because it was true happiness and disbelief."

Y/N's smile is nostalgic. If she closes her eyes tight enough, she can picture the fireflies surrounding her. She's brought back to the present when she feels a small hand placed over her own.

"Thank you for sharing that with me," Josie says before she leans over, giving Y/N a hug.

Y/N laughs and hugs her back, happy she got to know this sweet girl better.

"I think it's time for bed."

"Okay."

As they begin walking up the stairs after making a stop in the kitchen to put their mugs in the dishwasher, Y/N stops outside the guest room.

"You're really wise for your age."

Josie nods, "My dad tells me that all the time."

Y/N can't help the smile that Josie draws out of her, "Goodnight."

"Night."

Y/N goes to bed with lots more on her mind. Her thoughts on the young girl who is caring more on her shoulder than she lets on. Josie has grown us quicker and doesn't realize it due to her experiences. Y/N goes wondering what tomorrow will bring.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

A lot was running through Harry's mind after the dinner he had on Sunday with Y/N and her family. Trust him; he enjoyed it. He adored seeing her in a different environment, but she seemed distant, and so did Josie. It's as if the two gravitated towards each other more. Always whispering to each other.

He enjoyed seeing them get along; he just didn't like not being included. This also made him second guess in pursuing Y/N. He wasn't willing to risk it not working out. Harry also knows he's not sure if he'd survive the heartbreak.

It's been a while since he's put himself out there, but as a single dad, he feared that no woman he had met was good enough to meet Josie, not after learning that he had full custody.

Y/N's sister was kind, always teasing Y/N but Y/N gave it right back. He could tell the love they had for each other was the kind he shared with Gem. They might not have been that close in age, but they appreciate each other better as adults. Harry loved Y/N's nephew, who stumbled every few steps he took, which is why Y/N took it upon herself to have him attached to her the whole night.

It warmed Harry's heart and gave him all kinds of crazy ideas, for example like a baby that was half him and half her that he'd love just as much as Josie.

Fuck, he had it bad.

Harry's thankful it's Wednesday, and he gets to see Y/N again. He didn't make practice on Monday having Sarah bring her, and today Y/n picked her up from his house where Mitch was watching her because he had a meeting that would be running long. Luckily, he made it just in time before the practice started.

He knew he was going to stand out, showing up wearing creamed flared trousers and a black silk button-down. Harry had taken off his cropped, lapel grey plaid jacket knowing the heat would eat him alive if he left it on.

Harry chuckled to himself as he walked from the parking lot; his folding hair swung on his shoulder. He waved to the parents before setting up alone under a tree, wanting to enjoy the shade today and no conversations unless it was from one specific person.

He sees her pocketing her phone in her bag and knows this is his chance to talk to her. He makes his way discreetly as possible, going behind the parents, who are all currently staring down at their phones.

"Y/N,"

She turns, she scans him head to toe quickly, not wanting Harry to catch her, but he does. He lets it boost his ego a little.

"Harry, a bit dressed up, no?"

He chuckles, doing a little spin for her. "Not at all, haven't you heard business casual is the new uniform."

She shakes her head at him, "We'll take it into consideration."

"That's all I ask."

Y/N looks over to Kate and motions for her to get the girls' warm-up started.

"Dinner was nice."

Y/N nods, "It was. My sister really likes you."

"That's good. She's really funny."

"She knows it." Y/N rolls her eyes playfully.

Harry knocks his hips into her, "Don't worry, you're still my favorite."

"Gee, I was so worried." Y/N fakes dramatically but isn't able to hide how her cheeks heat up at his compliment. "Now, you need to go sit. I have to coach. Parents are going to think I'm flirting."

Harry smirks, "I don't mind the flirting."

"Styles, you'd know if I was flirting."

"I'm just going to say that I very much am."

"Hmm, I'll take that into consideration. For our future conversations."

Y/N joins the girls as they are about to start their second lap; Harry slowly makes his way to his waiting chair, happy that Y/N might like him just as much as he likes her.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Y/N pulled Josie aside before the scrimmage wanting to speak with her noticing she wasn't connecting with the team as she had on Monday.

"Doing okay?" Y/N asks as Josie gets a drink of water.

Josie nods, "Of course."

"Well, Juliet told me you didn't want to hang out. She said you had wanted to try that donut place with us on Friday."

"Because I had plans with my mom."

"Oh, that's fun."

"No."

"Why not?"

"She said she was busy," Josie murmurs.

"Well, you're still welcome to join us on Friday. I'm going to take Juliet to get ice cream at my favorite shop after practice. You're welcome to join." Y/N offers, knowing the little girl needs something to cheer her up.

"Does my dad have to come?"

"Not if you don't want him to."

Josie shakes her head no.

"Okay then."

"I'll go ask permission now."

"You can wait," Y/N laughs at her eagerness.

"No. I tell him now, and he can think it over while I play."

"Okay, sure. Don't take long."

Josie nods about to take off, but Y/n stops her. "Josie, I'm sorry your plans changed."

"She's been doing that more." She shrugs as if she's not bothered.

"Just because she is doing that doesn't mean you aren't loved. Your dad loves you and your godparents; the team does as well. I do, also. You're amazing, Josie." Y/N tells her, knowing Josie needed to hear it from somebody other than her father.

Josie's eyes shine, but she blinks the tears away. She gives her a quick hug before turning around and running towards Harry. From the corner of her eye, she sees Josie dramatically asking for permission as she lets her father retie the laces of her boots. Y/N smiles because she loves Josie, and if given a chance, she might also get an opportunity to love Harry. Y/N looks forward to watching what the future may bring.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Kate had organized a pizza party for the girls because they had been doing so well and thought they deserved a reward. Y/N and Kate always talked about motivating and encouraging the girls for their hard work and dedication. They would do small gatherings or bring them a treat to enjoy after practice, and the occasional Monday off that happened on significant dates or when they as a coach needed a break which wasn’t often because they loved this and the girls.

A pizza party was fun, it allowed parents to interact somewhere that wasn’t crazy hot, and the girls got to eat their weight in pizza. Y/N personally loved it because she got to eat crazy good buffalo wings. Kate and Y/N always shared a basket.

Y/N had sat in a booth with Kate across from her knowing the girls would take up two of the long tables. They rather not squeeze in between when they have a good view of them here.

“Anyone I should be aware of, Thomas, was it?”

“Uhh, no. He turned out to be a jerk who couldn’t get me off.”

“Gee any louder, Katie, would you.” Y/N smiles at Cynthia’s parents, who are in line waiting to order themselves around some beers. Y/N was never one who got into drinking, but it doesn’t bother her those who do.

“Anyways, the one who is coming is Tiffany, and we have been talking for a week, and I think I may be in love.” Kate sighs, a faraway look in her eye as the waiter drops by her beer. Y/N eyes it, not liking how much foam was in the cup.

“You say you’re in love each time.”

Kate rolls her eyes at Y/N, “Well, I mean it this time.”

“Sure.”

“No, you’ll see. Tiff should be here soon. She got the most gorgeous curls and the most perfect brown eyes. Then when she talks Spanish to me, I have an idea what she’s saying, but it turns me on like crazy.”

“I can translate for you.” Kate rolls her eyes, knowing Y/N’s Spanish was perfect due to her high school and college years, not to mention she took YMCA classes at seven. “Anyways, let us move on from the conversation.”

“Okay, let’s talk about your sex life.”

Y/N chucks a piece of lettuce at Kate hitting her square on her chin. Before Kate can retaliate, Harry steps towards them, “Hello, ladies.”

“Hi, Harry,” Kate responds by making crazy eyes at Y/N.

“Mind if I join you, don’t think Josie would like me sitting with her or alone.”

Y/N nods, “Of course, but only if you don’t mind sliding in. I like the edge seats, or you can sit with Kate.”

Kate shakes her head no, “No, he cannot. My date should be here soon.”

Y/N gets up to let Harry slide in, he does a little wiggle to get to the other side, and Y/N does her best to hide her laugh. It seems to work, as he didn’t mention it. Y/N feels her body heat up because their thighs are touching. She feels ridiculous getting worked up over a simple touch.

The next hour flies by, and Tiffany arrives during that time, and Y/N loves her. She is as gorgeous as Kate described, her hair long falling down her back in thick ringlets, her brown eyes captivating, and her golden skin shines with just a hint of sunlight. She can see why Kate was smitten, but getting to know her and Y/N can happily say she’s a perfect fit for her best friend. She hopes it works out for Kate because this will be a heavy heartbreak if it doesn’t.

Y/N excuses herself, wanting to check with the girls. She approaches the table sitting by the pinball machines. The girls have question after question for her that she happily answers. She looks to see Juliet, happily leading a conversation with a quiet Jo sitting next to her staring out the window.

She excuses herself from the girls and places a hand on Juliet’s shoulder, who stops her chatter to grin up at Y/N before continuing like she never stopped. Jo just smiles at her before looking at the other girls acting as she was involved in the conversation, but Y/n knows better.

“You alright, Jo?”

“Of course, a bit full, that is all.” Y/N stares at those green eyes long and hard before nodding.

“I’m just over there if any of you need anything.”

“Yes, thank you, coach.” Most girls answer in unison.

Y/N goes back to their table, and Harry smiles, scooting over, “Saved your spot. Susan tried to nab it.”

“My hero.” She giggles.

The conversation around Y/N flows easily; she laughs and comments. There is a moment where Harry squeezes her thigh affectionately when she makes a witty comment defending him and his style. She wishes he’d rest his hand there, but he moves it back on top, also not wanting anyone to be suspicious.

As much as Y/N is having a lovely evening, her gaze drifts over to Josie, who hasn’t uttered a word since she was with her.

Harry is too busy chatting and having a nice time to notice how quiet Josie has gotten, not that she blames him; the place is loud and complete because it’s a Saturday afternoon. This worries Y/n as she has seen Josie withdrawing more and more but didn’t want to believe it. Josie hides it reasonably well.

Y/N hopes she’s wrong and that sweet Josie is only having an off day.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Harry was happy to see Josie loving California. He knew it was a risk moving across the country when the East coast is all she had ever known. Josie has shown him nothing but happiness; he can't wait to see how she does in the Fall when she goes back to school. The great thing is she will have friends due to the girls on the team. Also, he hates to admit it, but it has been good for Josie to see more of her mom. Allowing them to build a better relationship. Harry only wishes the best for his daughter and hopes he has been doing that so far in her life.

It's Wednesday, and Harry feels his weeks go by faster now that they have a structured routine. He always gets excited because he knows that he'll have a chance to chat with Y/N no matter what.

They arrive five minutes before practice starts, making Harry rush out of the car, holding Josie's hand as she pulls him along, wanting to apologize to Y/N.

Y/N approaches them as they reach the area where all the girls have just started their warm-up lap.

"We're so sorry. We got stuck in a traffic jam." Harry rushes out, hating to get his daughter punished for his tardiness.

She shakes her head at him, not bothered. "Go on join the others, Josie," she gently touched her shoulder. "I've got to chat with your dad."

Josie gives her an uncertain look, but she assures her with a smile. She runs off, joining the second lap at the back of the two lines.

Harry stands there, uncertain, not sure what she needs to tell him. By the solemn look she has, it might not be good.

She walks off to the side a distance from the parents and has an eye on the girls finishing up their warm-up laps before going into a stretch.

"Josie brought up something I think you need to know."

Harry waits, allowing her to go on, knowing he shouldn't interrupt.

Y/N takes a deep breath before looking him in his eyes, "Josie says her mom told her she needs to stop calling her and to stop with the visits. That she's pregnant, and that's her priority, not her."

Harry's jaw drops. He didn't know Claudia could be so cruel to their daughter. He wasn't even aware she was pregnant or that she wanted more children. Mostly he hates that he does not hear this from his daughter.

"She told me she was afraid of how'd you react to the news, but I told her she needed to address it, and by your reaction, I assume she didn't."

Harry shakes his head. "No, we celebrated the win and had a good weekend. Seemed happier than normal honesty."

"It's common for kids to try to block it out. As someone who had to go through her fair share of child therapy, I feel like it would be good for her to see a therapist." Y/N tells him, voice gentle, knowing this is a lot for Harry.

"Why" Harry bites back, defensive. "She's fine, happy, and laughing."

"Harry, I'm not saying she's not, but she needs to talk about it. Jo won't be with you, and it's because she trusts and loves you and doesn't want to hurt you. She thinks she is protecting you; an eight-year-old shouldn't be trying to protect her father."

Harry feels himself boiling, no longer wanting to hear any more of what she has to say.  

"The signs are there."

The signs," he scoffs.

"Quietness, sadness, isolation, anxiety." She points to the field, and he turns to see Josie stretching alone, lost in her own head. No longer sitting between Juliet like she always had the last few weeks. A frown on her face seems to be permanently placed.  

"You've got no right to say this." Harry wishes she never brought this up.

"I'm doing this for her, not for you."

Harry has had enough; he wants her to hurt her like he is right now, which is why he lets his mouth speak before he can think over what he has said, "Who do you think you are? Honestly, you're a lousy soccer coach who has nothing better to do but judge kids and their parents."

"Harry," she whispers, trying to mask her hurt.

"No, you've said enough. I think you can forget about Josie playing for this team." His voice dripping with venom. "Seems all you wanted was extra cash in your pocket with the addition of a player ."

He walks towards the field. "Josie, we're leaving," Harry doesn't care that the other parents are watching now. He throws Josie's bag over his shoulder as he watches her jog over to him,

"We just got here. I was warming up."

"Josie, we're leaving." No room for argument in his voice, but Josie stands her ground.

"I don't want to leave." Her voice falters as she stares up at him.

"Josie, don't."

"Dad, I like it here, Coach is-"

Harry cuts her off, "Enough, Josephine, you're not coming back here ever."

Those words bring tears to her eyes; she drops her head, defeated. She follows behind Harry and turns to look at Y/N one last time, shooting her an "I warned you look."

Y/N watches them walk away, and she can only hope this is the last she sees of them. She shakes all her feelings out, knowing she has all eyes on her right now. She's got a team to coach, and just like that, she brushes away Harry and his cruel words, knowing they'll resurface later in the appropriate environment.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

After leaving the practice field, Harry And Josie did not speak a word to each other or the next day. They continued in silence, not for Harry's lack of trying to get a word out of Josie; she was just that upset with him.

All he received were head shakes, and Harry was worried. He cooled down after and let everything sink in, but the damage was done; it was too late.

That same night Harry called Claudia to confront her to tell her he would be taking her to court to forget seeing Josephine. All she responded was that it was quite alright. She was giving him full custody and would be sending him the paperwork she had already signed. Then hung up the phone on him.

Harry was appalled that a mother could do this to their child, to abandon them with no care. He always knew Claudia wasn't a good person, but he wished better for his daughter, and right now, even he didn't feel good enough for his angel girl.

On the fifth day of silence between his daughter and him, he received an email he was tempted not to open due to who it read the sender was. He did so anyway; it was the name, phone number, and location of a therapist nearby. The email read professional, not a hint of the last few months of knowing each other. There was an endnote that said to give her as a reference. He knew he would think it over for now.

On the seventh day of his daughter ignoring him, he called the number that he marked down on his phone. He called and set up an appointment for the following day; he knows it could have been longer if he didn't name drop Y/N. Harry knows he needs to apologize, but he's not sure where to begin or if it would be appropriate to show up at her house, but he decided to focus on one thing at a time, and that would be Josie.

Harry would have liked to walk hand in hand into the big building with big windows overlooking a secluded private park, but Josie walked ahead and sat herself on the rainbow-colored couches for kids and picked up a Judy Blume book to read.

Harry walks to the front desk and admires all the photos pinned up behind the receptionist. He knows they must be patients with only their first name signed. His favorite is a dinosaur swimming on a floaty holding a milkshake; there was some natural talent hanging on the wall as well as a lot of imagination.

"Sir, here for?" The receptionist called him for his turn, not noticing the person in front of him was now seated.

"Styles, Harry. Well, Josephine," he corrects. "Sorry."

"No worries, all parents do that their first time."

He awkwardly laughs.

"Dr. Sylvia Hernandedz will be with you shortly." He thanks her, going to sit on the black couch. He sinks right in full of comfort.

Five minutes later, they are called to go. He reaches for Josie's hand, and she lets him take it but doesn't make any move to hold him; it's as if he's carrying dead weight. Harry sighs but follows behind the receptionist.

"Hello, Styles family, lovely to meet you." A woman in her mid-forties greets them, a nice styled bun not a hair out of sight. Glasses on the bridge of her nose. She has a dark blue pencil skirt and a white buttoned shirt tucked in. He feels not as uncomfortable as he thought he would.

"I'm Syliva Hernandez, and you must be Josephine Styles." She leans down to be eye level with Josie and sticks out for her to shake.

"Yes, Dr. Hernandez. A pleasure to meet you." Josie responds politely.

Dr. Hernandez smiles. "Now, how'd you know I was a doctor?"

"The frame behind your desk shows your credentials." She points to the USC doctorate hanging behind a desk full of framed photos.

"Well, aren't you an observant girl?"

"Thank you."

"Would you like to accompany me to this playroom while I chat with your father? I can have my friend Alycia join you if you don't want to be alone."

Josie shakes her head no, "I'll be fine. I like being alone sometimes. I had a very wise person tell me it's okay to want to be alone sometimes, but it doesn't mean you're alone."  

"Did your dad tell you that?" Dr. Hernandez asks.

"No."

"Very, well off you go. We'll have an eye on you but feel free to use all the items in there."

"Thank you." Josie slips right in, grabbing paper and colored pencils, carefully pulling out her desired colors.

"Have a seat, please, Mr. Styles."

"Thank you."

He sits in the mahogany chair; he can't say he likes it much.

"These chairs are awful. My office is better furnished, I assure you."

Harry tears his eyes from Josie to look at the therapist.

They are silent, and Harry isn't sure what to do.

"Uhh...Y/N Y/LN recommend us to you. I'm not sure if they informed you or I had to let you know."

"Yes, I'm aware. She's a great person." Shutting down conversation.

"Your daughter's birthday."  

"December 13th, she's eight".

"How long have you been separated from her mother?"

"Since before her birth. We have a court agreement that I get weekly, and she gets her weekends, but that has recently changed. I have full custody of her.

"How does that make you feel?"

"Not okay; I grew up with divorced parents. My mother never remarried. I have an older sister, but we live in different countries."

"Do you fear the same for her?"

"Think it's worse for her. Josie's mother told her she didn't want her anymore because she would be having a baby. She didn't even tell me. She told--," he cuts himself off.

"Who did she tell?"

"Her soccer coach."

"A female?

"Yes. They are close. Have a real bond, an understanding of sorts."

"Do you think she is looking for a female to look up to?"

"It would make sense. My mother lives in London, and we only see her on holidays, same with my sister. She gets on well with my best mate's girlfriend, Sarah. She taught Josie to play the drums a bit. Also, Glenne, a dear friend."

"Male figures in life?"

"Too many. Mitch, Jeff, Adam, and his kids. Tyler, a family friend."

"It seems she has paternal figures, but she's searching for maternal figures." She states before continuing, "What's the reason you brought her in?"

"The coach addressed to me that she was worried that she was withdrawing herself, becoming anxious and lonely. Less happy. I didn't see it, but we've gone a week without speaking, and I've seen her mope and stare off a lot."

"Is she still seeing her coach?

"No, that's part of our not talking. I got upset over the suggestion of therapy and took that away from her."

"It led to a negative response."

"Yes, and I feel awful about it."

"It seems that the sport and coach are important to her and who she is. It's what you call a safe place."

"But she was beginning to withdraw from there as well," Harry states, not knowing it couldn't be so safe if she was isolating herself.  

"Well, we'll have to talk with her. Are you comfortable with me speaking with her alone? I do have to let you know what I speak with her is confidential. She can tell you about it, but you cannot ask me."

"Yes, of course. It's fine, I understand." Harry knows therapy can be scary, but it can also be the start of something better.

"Well, let me call her back."

Dr. Hernandez stands and opens the door, "Josephine, come with me, please." Josie nods her head, putting the colored pencils away and bringing her picture with her.

"I apologize if we took too long."

"Not long. Enough to finish my drawing." She shares, giving the doctor a small smile.

"Can I have a look?"

Josie hands it over, Dr. Hernandez turns it so they can both see what she drew. It's a photo of a goal net and who he assumes to be himself in the net. A little girl with two pigtails standing there, hands raised, and another female is to the side cheering with a megaphone.

"It's beautiful."

"Thank you," Josie says proudly.

"Do you think I can keep it? Have you sign your name and add it to the front desk."

"Would you?" Josie's eyes go wide at someone other than her dad hanging up her art.

"Of course."

"That'd be wonderful." And for the first time in a week, she turns looking up at Harry. "Did you hear that daddy, Dr. Hernandez wants to keep it?

"I would too; it's beautiful, darling."

"I can make another."

Harry smiles, grateful, his daughter is her vibrant self, "Thank you, honey."

"Josephine, are you okay with your dad stepping out and you talking with me privately one on one?

"Yes, I like you. Also, you can call me Josie."

Dr. Hernandez nods in acknowledgment before turning to address Harry.

"You can wait in the waiting room. Alycia will bring you back to discuss in my office when we are done."  

Harry mutters okay and walks out, closing the door behind him. He walks a few steps before laying his head to rest on the wall. This has felt like a lot, but he also feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulder.

Maybe I need to see a therapist. Harry thinks to himself, liking that he got a lot off his shoulders in just a short amount of time.

He's walking down the hallway when he hears a familiar voice, one he didn't think he'd have the pleasure of ever hearing again.

It stops him in his tracks.

He hears her voice once more and follows it out to the waiting room he's supposed to be waiting for his daughter.

Harry sees that she is talking with Alycia, and as he steps closer, he feels like it is harder to breathe.

"I have three more clients before I'm done for the day, but I have a thirty-minute gap, so maybe we can order smoothies, my treat." She tells the secretary handing her two twenty bills so that she can get everyone a drink.

"Y/N," he gasps out.

His eyes roam her body; he's never seen her dressed, so office official always used to see her in shorts, sweats, leggings, and a t-shirt. She's wearing this blue satin silk blouse tucked into high-waisted black trousers and low heels.

She is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

Y/N turns, not at all trying to hide the surprised look on her face.

"You're here." She nods; he's not sure why she's here.

"Here's your next client's file. They are doing an intake. You have over half an hour."

"Great."

Harry is now standing in front of her. "You work here?"

Y/N nods.

"You're a therapist." He states.

Y/N can clearly see he wants to talk and knows a better place to do it than their waiting room filled with waiting people.

"Why don't we talk in my office?" Harry nods, ready to follow her, but before he can, she turns to the desk once more, "Hold my calls, please, Alycia."

"Of course."

"Follow me, Harry."

They walk in silence as they pass Dr. Hernandez's door. She opens her door, allowing him to enter first. It feels bright and full of color; the wall's painting is pale green and hanging on the walls; she has lots of scenic photos and drawings. The chairs are nice, a red velvet couch pushed against a wall, her desk is not that big, he notices. It lacks pictures compared to Dr. Hernandez. Her degrees are placed on a bookshelf. She has it color-coded in colors of the rainbow, which is quite impressive.

"Have a seat." She offers all the open space.

Y/N takes a seat on the couch, and he follows.

Harry feels underdressed next to Y/N, and that has never happened before; he is always the one showing up in extravagant and overpriced suits.

"You work here." He waits for her to confirm.

"Yes, I'm a therapist here. Dr. Hernandez was my advisor during my undergrad. She knew what I wanted to accomplish for my career. They offered me a job, and I accepted. They have been supportive of obtaining my doctorate."

Harry is very impressed, "Congrats, that's wonderful."

"Thank you."

They both quiet down, not sure who should go first. Harry is about to start when Y/N begins to speak.

"Listen, Harry, I'm sorry. I went about addressing it wrong, and I never meant to upset you. I apologize." Y/N keeps her eyes on his wanting him to see how sincere she was.

"No need, I've taken a week to reflect on what a jerk I was. Having Josie give me the silent treatment for a week was torture." Harry confesses, scratching his neck to avoid reaching for her hand.

"Is she okay? Harry, that's a long time." Y/N's voice laced with concern.

"I'm sure she's chatting Dr. Hernandez ear off as we speak."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I brought it on myself by taking her away from one thing she truly loves."

Y/N nods, not able to disagree with Harry. "Yeah, I understand."

"Is that how you know she needed therapy because you're a therapist?"

"Yes. I saw the signs, but I mostly observe and never address it, but from the conversations I've had with Josie and the relationship we built, I felt like I owed it to her to get her help." Y/N pauses, debating if she was ready to share more of herself with Harry. "It was also that I saw myself in her, it felt familiar, and I wanted to help."

"I'm going to tell you a story."

Harry can tell it's not going to be an easy one as she's not staring at her hand, focused on the lone ring she has on her index finger. "You don't have to."

She reaches over and squeezes his hand once to let him know it's alright. "I was nine years old when I walked in on my dad cheating on my mom with his secretary. I told her as soon as she came home and she didn't believe me. She went as far as calling me an attention seeker. By the end of the week, we were living with my grandparents. I didn't see my parents again after that day. At age ten, I started visiting the counselor because I blamed myself for my sister no longer having parents. I wouldn't even allow myself to talk to her; I was just consumed by guilt taking all the blame when I shouldn't have."

Y/N knows Harry's gaze is on her, but she doesn't dare look up, not wanting to see the pity in his eyes. "Don't think I've stopped since then. A big reason I'm doing the job I am now is for those who helped me along the way.

"Y/N,"

"Harry, no pity comments. I've made my peace, sure the trauma never truly leaves, but you overcome it."

"Thank you for sharing that with me, I know I don't deserve it, but I'm grateful."

Harry needs to apologize; he wants to leave here today knowing he didn't lose a friend.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

"Harry, you-"

"No, I really am; I didn't mean a word I said. I know you're more than a coach, and you're not lousy; you're brilliant. You're my daughter's favorite person. I didn't mean it, and I hope you'll forgive me."

"I accept your apology, that was a bad day for all of us, but I can move past it if you can?"

"Yes, I would love that. I feel awful you're someone I trust, a friend. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.

"Thank you, Harry."

"One more thing."

"Yes, go on."

"Can you recommend a therapist for me? Talking with Dr. Hernandez was amazing, and I think I would benefit from it."

Y/N doesn't make any comment, just nods. "I'll send you a list of therapists but do know you'll always find a friend in me if you ever need a shoulder to cry on or someone to watch over you as you get drunk."

Harry chuckles; he'll keep that in mind for future references.  

"There's a knock on the door. "Yes, come in."

"Sylvia is ready for Mr. Styles."

"Thank you, Alycia. I'll walk him to her office."

Y/N stands, and Harry follows close behind as they make their way out to reunite him with his daughter.

"Y/N, can I hug you?"

She bits back the smile threatening to overtake her face at how small he looks asking. "Yes, that's fine."

Harry doesn't wait for another second; he throws his arms around her holding her tight. He hadn't been lucky enough to hug her before, but now doing it, he doesn't think he ever wants to go a day without one.

They walk out, both having heated faces due to enjoying being the embrace of one another. She walks them a few doors down and knocks, waiting for the go-ahead to go in.

"One last thing," She says, pointing a hand to his chest."

"Name it." He'd give her anything.

"Jo comes back to the team. You bring her to the game this weekend."

"Yes, of course."

She beams at his response, "Great."

Y/N peeks her head in, locking eyes with Sylvia. "Alright, to come in, Doc?"

"Of course, Josephine, this is my good friend and coworker Y/N."

Josie turns and smiles wide, jumping up when she sees her walk in with Harry right behind her.

"Hiya, champ. Seems to have found your dad lost out here."

Josie giggles and runs into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"I've missed you."

"As have I little miss sunshine. I missed my fastest midfielder at the game. All the girls missed you."

"Awe, I'll be back," she looks up at Harry with a look of worry on her face. "Right, daddy?"

"Yes, darling. Got a game at ten am on Saturday."

Josie lets out a loud shriek.

"So this is Coach." Dr. Hernandez says with a knowing smile.

"Yes, she's great," Josie responds, holding tight to Y/N's hand.  

Y/N chuckles. "How about you and I go draw a picture to add to my office while Dr. Hernandez and your dad tie up some little things."

"Okay."

They walk out hand in hand as Josie catches up with Y/N on everything she did on her week away. Not shying away from how she handled the now resolved issue with her father.

"You don't look as blue," Dr. Hernandez comments."

"Sorry," Harry blushes, having been lost in thought on the two girls who just walked out.

"Mr. Styles, your aura is soft, kinder."

"Yeah, I think she has that effect on people."

"You might be right."

Things are finally looking up, and Harry looks forward to rebuilding his relationship with Josie and hopefully creating one with Y/N besides their parent and coach relationship.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

It's been two weeks since Josie came back to play, and thing's have been going smoothly. Harry begins helping out with cleaning up at the end of practice to talk to Y/N more. He asks more about her job and how the doctorate is going. He worries she might be juggling too much, but she assures him she has a smooth dynamic of handling everything.

It's a cold Saturday morning, it's the quarter-finals, and the nerves are high for everyone. The girls finished on top of the leaderboard, but the league likes doing a championship game to honor all the hard-working teams.

Y/N is quieter this morning, and all the parents have picked up on it. They are used to her light and kind nature, wishing everyone a good day and accepting treats. Cynthia's mom is in charge of snacks for today and offered her a muffin one she never says no to except today.

It immediately puts everyone in a skittish mood.

Truthfully, Y/N isn't here for the parents, but the girls and the team they are against is the dirtiest. Most girls are nine and will be moving up a division, but Coach Roman teaches them that dirty plays will make them win. Her girls are strong players, but she reminds them of the importance of sportsmanship and playing with heart.

Y/N even makes sure she cannot be approached by anyone, only the girls and Kate, as they start to warm up on the field. The girls do their drills as Kate stands quietly by your side.

"Someone can't take their eye off of you."

"Stop."

"It's true though, he was pouting when he saw you on the field clipboard in hand," Kate says with a giggle.

"Shush."

"Going to ask him on a date?"

"Only if we win."

That shuts Kate up, "You're joking."

Y/N slowly shakes her no, "Girls, two lines, run through side net shots."

Kate and Y/n stand back to back as the girls pass, and they kick it-bag, giving them only a second to angle themselves. This is one of their favorite warm-ups, and she's glad she can still talk with Kate during it.

"What made you finally decide?"

"I realized he's not going to make a move because one he fears I'm going to reject him and two it goes horribly wrong, then he might never show his face around here again. I'm positive he likes me."

Kate nods, "he likes you, adores you. He's got it bad." She's quiet for a moment before starting up again, "I know we're going to win, so how are you going to ask him? I'm going to need all the details."

"I'm going to go up to him and ask him out to dinner, simple as that."

Y/N changes the drill marking the end of their conversation; she leads the girl into two groups of keep away while Kate takes Dawson, their goalie, to keep warming up.

Before they know it, captains and coaches are called. Coach Roman is smug and annoying as he shakes her hand. The girls pick heads and win the coin toss. They choose to have kickoff; Roman's girls decide to stay on their side, meaning everything to their advantage as they have the slight uphill to battle through for the first half, and the second will use it to their advantage.

The starting lineup is quick to attack, and in a matter of minutes, Juliet scored a goal from a pass from Imelda. The girls' cheer, happy to be leading the game. They know better than getting cocky; if anything, this intensifies their speed at playing. The next twelve minutes of the second quarter are stressful as Josie makes it a two-zero lead from a corner kick. Just as half-time is to be called, a midfield slips through the defense from the back and gets it over Dawson's head, and just like that, the referee calls it.

Y/N can't remember the last time she was this anxious. It's foul after foul, and she's had enough of it.

Kate is quick to round up the girl, not wanting to monopolize all their time, wanting them to relax mostly to stay in a positive mindset. Kate leads the talk letting them know they are doing well and that the left-wing is getting beat, but having the downhill in favor should help her out now. Y/N went around making sure each girl was safe and had no injuries, only grass stains on their knees.

"Be aggressive, but don't stoop to their level."

"Yes, coach" is heard in unison as a response.

Each girl goes to their bags and starts to stretch, knowing they can't approach their parents because it's easy for them to influence them on how they are playing. Everyone respects it, but there are a few times a parent comes by.

She decides to take a walk, getting away from the girls. She just wants to relax and not be as tense for the end of the half.

She nearly jumps out of her skin when she hears someone call her name.

"Fuck, Harry. You scared me."

He raises his hands up in defense. "Sorry, I was just checking if you are okay?"

Y/N doesn't hesitate to rush into his arms, tucking her head into his neck. Harry, without hesitation, wraps his arms around her. He runs his hand down her back softly, hoping she finds it comforting.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." She holds him tighter, so he goes on. "You're okay, yeah, doing a good job. Girls are playing well. Taking care of each other, just like you taught them."

She slowly nods her head, she's calmed down, and Y/n thinks it might have to do with his soothing heartbeat.

"Deep breaths, love, Come on with me."

Harry breathes in and out until she does it with him. He feels her relax and tries to pull her back, but her grip is tight.

"It's okay, not going anywhere."

"Sorry," she whispers.

"No need to apologize, love."

"I just don't like when coaches teach their girls to play dirty; I hate injuries. They're just kids." She whispers, looking up at him now.

"They'll be okay."

"You don't know that. We have two quarters left."

Harry knows he won't be able to comfort her like he wants when he hears the ref blow the whistle. "Look, the girls are about to start, and they need a coach."

She nods, knowing she has to go back to her coaching mentality. The girls are her main priority; she can do this.

"Thank you, Harry."

"I'm here for you, whenever you need."

Y/N jogs over, nudging Kate playfully, who is shooting her suggestive eyes. They let the captain lead the huddle and listen intently before wishing them luck. The parents clap as the team cheer echoes out.

Only twenty-four minutes left, they can do this. She knows they can. The referees assured them he'd get a better eye on them, not wanting anyone to be carried off injured. Y/N refuses to take her eyes off of her girls. Constantly reminding them to keep communicating with each other when she hears them go quiet.

The last two quarters pass much quicker than the first; the girls play with more fleeting touches, not allowing the other team to put pressure on them.

Just when number eleven is close to getting the ball, Leslie switches the ball over to the other side; Y/N is shocked at how well Josie brings it down, she constantly struggles with this at practice, but she knows that Josie has been putting in the extra work.

She can hear Harry clapping and cheering on Josie; Y/N shouts her praise, letting her know she's doing well. Andie gets a breakaway, and it's a one-be-one versus the goalie. She fakes right as it goes left, touching it in softly, and in it goes. Y/N can't stop cheering, feeling the buzz all over her body. She's incredibly proud of the hard work they have all put in. Just as they reset and the ball is passed back, the whistle is blown and signifies they have won.

Golden Sparks are moving on to the semi-finals.

The girls are quick to jog in and tackle Y/N and Kate in a massive group hug. Y/N is going to be basking in this happiness for the entire weekend.

Y/N sends all the girls to their parents, letting them know she was okay doing the clean-up on her own. Kate stuck around, as did Juliet, because she wanted to have breakfast with Y/N telling her parents they were not welcome to come even though the invitation was extended to them. Clara and Xavier did not take any offense, happy to go back home and nap the morning away if their young toddler would let them.

Y/N approaches Harry after she gets everything settled in her trunk. He smiles at her, walking over helping her close her trunk as they wave by to Kate together. Josie and Juliet hang out in Harry's car, going through his Spotify playlist as they skip song after song, not being a fan of his taste.

Y/N lets out a deep breath, "I've been working up the courage to do this."

"Do what lovely? Harry asks curiously.

"Would you like to have dinner with me?" Y/N feels her stomach tense up as she waits for a response; by his wide eyes, she can tell he wasn't expecting her to say that, but he plays it off well.

"Asking me on a date?"

"I am."

Harry agrees, "I'd like that."

"Does Friday work for you?"

"Yes, great."

"I'll uh, pick you up."

"Proper wine and dine, love." She chuckles because, yeah, she wants to swoop Harry off his feet just like he did to her without even trying.

Y/N gives him a hug holding him tight for a few seconds, smiling up at Harry feeling giddy that they had a date planned after two months of flirting that they weren't sure would go anywhere.

"Juliet, we got to go."

"Okay, auntie." Juliet slams the door just a tad bit too hard, making Y/N mutter an apology.

"Bye, Harry."

"Bye, love."

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Friday had arrived quicker than Harry expected. He got to see Y/N during the week because of the practices, and he was texting her every chance he got. He wanted to let her know he liked her and he was serious about pursuing her. It's been a long time since his last relationship, but call him cliche with Y/N; it all feels right. That everything is falling into place like it should.

Now here he sat on his couch waiting for Y/N to arrive; he had changed his outfit three times because she told him casually, and he couldn't settle on a look. It wasn't until he put on a plain black tee that hugged her arms just right and white linen cropped pleated trousers that he felt ready. He even broke out his new white Vans for the evening.

Harry was about to check the time when there was a knock on his door. He couldn't tame the butterflies in his stomach if he tried. As he opened the door, Harry let out a laugh because there stood the most beautiful woman holding up a bouquet of red lilies. He's falling in love, and there's no stopping him; he just hopes she's there to catch him.

"Hi Harry, these are for you."

Harry laughs, not knowing how to react to receiving flowers, "I'm speechless." He accepts them and gently cradles them in his arms. "I'll put them in water, and we can go."

"Sure, no rush." Y/N admires his living room, never having stepped foot in his house until today, and it's small but cozy. There are photos of all his family framed on the wall to her right. He has a small bookshelf that holds more vinyl than books.

Harry comes back and sees her staring at a photo of Josie on her first birthday covered in cake from head to toe. "I'd give you a tour, but I'm actually really excited to start our date."

"I'm sure they'll be another time."

She walks down his driveway to her parked car allowing Harry to have a moment to look her over. She's dressed casually; she has high-waisted jeans that show off all her beautiful assets. Her lavender cardigan looks warm; she left it open to expose a white plain top. It is genuinely a casual look, but she makes it look over the top.

"You look beautiful," Harry tells her as she stands by her car door.

Y/N does a small twirl before jokingly curtsying for him. "Glad you think so. Those trousers are doing your thighs justice if I do say so myself."

Harry giggles loving how easy she compliments him.

"Right, I wanted to take you mini golfing but considering it's a Friday and summer, it's going to be packed with teenagers."

"Oh, you definitely saved us."

"Yeah, I thought we could take Josie during the middle of the week as a date. I bet she'd enjoy it. Although, I never keep track of points because I'm too competitive."

The date has barely started, and she's left him speechless twice.

"You want Josie to join us on dates." Harry states.

She looks over at him quickly as they are stopped at a red light, "Of course, Harry. She's your daughter; I don't expect you to find a sitter every time we want to go out together. Isn't it like if you're dating me, you're dating my daughter."

He chuckles, "but not on our first date."

"Honestly, I think we were long overdue for a date."

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you out all summer long," He confesses.

Y/N gasps in shock as she signals a right turn, briefly checking her blind spot before making the turn. "Yet, it only happened with a few weeks left in summer."

"Yeah, but we got here, didn't we?"

Y/N leans over and places her hand on his thigh, squeezing him twice, "Yes, we did."

Harry sees her turn into a diner that looks a bit run down; he doesn't dare question her because she seems so excited as she gets out of the car and waits for him by the trunk. Y/N extends her hand for him to take, and he does without a hint of hesitation.

Y/n leads the way, but he hurries to open the door for her. She thanks him with a squeeze of the hand. Walking in, he was startled at how Harry felt he was transported to a seventies diner. The booths were red and looked sparklingly new. To the left was a jukebox that he was desperate to have a look at, maybe dedicate a song to Y/N. The floor's black and white pattern shined at him as the waiter wore a nice button-up with a black bow tie, a red and white striped apron thrown over, his name tag said James.

"After you," Y/N said, wanting Harry to pick a booth side; he knew better than to fight her and slid in on the left side. Harry is surprised when Y/N slides in right next to him. "This alright, Harry?"

Harry grins at her, dimples on display just for her. "Yeah, just caught me by surprise."

She opens up the menu sliding the other one away so they could share. Y/N points to some of her favorite items on the menu and cringing at ones she disliked.

"You know the menu well." Harry states before deciding on the turkey burger she had raved about.

Y/N chuckles, closing the menu. "My grandparents brought Clara and me here every other weekend, never letting us eat out. My grandmother was against the food industry, and she knew the owner here prided themselves on giving back to the community. Always holding fundraisers or donating to local teams."

"Fast food industry isn't the best, but I thank them because I can get Thai food delivered to my house."

Y/N doesn't have time to respond, as their waiter comes back with two glasses of water. "I'll have the turkey burger, no onions, and fries instead of the salad."

Harry didn't know she didn't like onions but made a mental note on it, "I'll also have the turkey burger and the side salad. Oh, and the couple milkshake, we agreed on strawberry, right?"

Y/N nods her head, "I had forgotten about that, but yeah, two straws, please."

"I'll have that out shortly," James tells them, walking away.

"The shake is too hard to die for; it has whipped cream on the top and bottom. It's freshly made, nothing like the canned kind. It's large! Made to be shared, thank goodness you remembered."

Harry shrugs, "That's what I'm here for."

Harry loves how easy conversation flows with Y/N. He doesn't have to force himself to say try to think of a topic or question to ask her. She's very open in sharing herself with him, he's never had someone drop down all his walls this quick, yet again, he might have dropped back ages ago.

Y/N talks to him about his grandparents and how adoring they were. That they supported all of her dreams, even the ones that we're crazy, like wanting to become a witch because she wanted to make flowers grow from her palm. Harry shared how the first year of Josie being born, he felt like he never slept, always nervous something would happen. He also tells her how living in Georgia is something he didn't enjoy, but he also didn't want to bounce Josie around from school to school. It was only date one, but Harry was excited for what the future had in store for them.

When James came back to drop off their burgers and shake. Y/N didn't even hear him too busy laughing at a dumb joke Harry had told her; he can't even remember the joke he made because her laugh is music to his ears.

Y/N waits for Harry to take his first bite, and he decides to tease her just a bit. He slowly raises the burgers stopping an inch from his lips; Y/N sits there, chin perched on her hand as if she has all the time in the world to wait for him.

"I'm in no rush, casanova." She smirks, not falling for his game.

Harry knows eating burgers is nothing sexual, so he decides to go all in. He moans at the first taste he gets, it's juicy, and the pepper jack cheese is perfectly melted, adding an excellent combination.

"Love, that is an amazing burger."

"I know." She's already gotten a bite in. She eyes his salad plate for a moment before looking back over to her fries.

"You want some, sweetheart?"

Y/N giggles at his comment, "God no. I eat healthy enough already, thanks to Juliet, but can I have some of your ranch?"

Harry understands eating healthy, he does it for Josie, and since Y/N is constantly around Juliet, it makes sense she would change her eating habits but does know as an aunt she's easier to give in to desserts. Not that he minds; he needs more sweetness in his life.

"Sure, you eat it with your fries. That's interesting."

She shrugs, "I don't think it is. Everyone in my family eats fries with ranch, including Josie."

"If Josie starts eating fries like that, I will know who to blame."

Y/N bumps her shoulder with Harry, "Haha."

They eat most of their meal in silence. Occasionally, Harry steals a few fries causing Y/N to chuckle before turning her plate, so Harry didn't have to reach over her. She doesn't chastise him about not ordering fries if he wanted some. Harry likes how much he enjoys spending time with Y/N.

"What's one thing you hope to accomplish within the next five years?" Harry asks as Y/N passes the shake back to him and takes a generous drink. They had finished eating, and now we're trying to finish the shake that Harry thought was smaller than what had arrived at their table.

"My usual answer is a doctor, but what's happening next year, so, give me a moment," Harry waits for her, watching as she plays with the rings on his right hand. They went front sitting thigh to thigh to Y/N, hooking her leg to Harry's, causing her to lean more on him. Harry liked it, and if he wasn't somewhere public or their first date, he would have pulled her into his lap. He took a chance and set his hand on top of her thigh; to his surprise, she placed her hand on top of his, intertwining their fingers together.

Every little thing she did made him fall deeper and deeper.

"I want to run a marathon."

"A marathon? I didn't know you were a runner."

"Oh yeah, last December I ran a half marathon, and it was hell, but once the runner high hits, it's the most wonderful thing."

"Why not do it now?"

Y/N frowns, taking off the rose ring from his finger and slipping it on one of hers. "The training is rigorous. You have to work up the miles constantly and eat better. I would rather enjoy the upcoming year."

"Well, when it happens, I can't wait to be there cheering you on." He tells her with a hopeful look.

"I'll hold you to that, Styles."

Harry smiles, hoping she does, hoping he gets to spend many more years to come with her in his life.

Y/N excuses herself to the restroom, and Harry decides it's a good time to pick a song. He approached it grateful to half a quarter hanging in his pocket. The jukebox looked old but well kept. Harry saw over 100 songs but searched for a specific one in mind; he was thrilled to see it was on there. Just as it started to play, he saw Y/N walking back towards him, so he hurried over to slide into their seat.

"You know, you're kind of clumsy."

"Am not," he denies.

"Oh, sorry, so it wasn't you who bumped into the table as you made your way to sit down."

Harry decides not to respond, knowing she saw him embarrass himself, and instead starts singing along to the song. The smile on her face widens as she hears how good he is.

"I'm not surprised you picked Fleetwood Mac, "songbird" is a sweet song."

"Am I that predictable?"

She nods, "Jo always sings one of their songs; at the sleepover, she said that's what you played most, so I taught her my favorites."

"Is it you I have to thank for the ABBA and Selena obsession?" He playfully glares.

"Guilty. She needed to brighten her horizon."

"Josie doesn't even know Spanish."

"Ah, but she will now."

"You're weird." Y/N shrugs in acceptance, knowing he meant it as a compliment.

As Harry's song comes to an end, she jumps up and rushes over to pick her song. She doesn't shy away about dancing her way back over to him. She mouths along to "The Name of the Game," moving her body to the beat.

"The name of the game?"

"You know it, darling."

Harry feels the heat in his cheek and hopes Y/N won't bring it up. She gets him flustered in just a few words.

"You know this is about falling in love with your therapist," he states

"Harry!" She exclaims. "No, the song is open to interpretation."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's about the early days of your relationship and wondering if it'll be something more or not. Also, that bridge, I mean come on."

Harry loves how passionate she is about the song. He loves that she's not afraid to share her thoughts with him, and he realizes he's doing the same. He can't help himself and leans in to press a kiss to her temple, throwing an arm over her shoulder to pull her close as they sit there listening to the song to the end.

"Ready to go, angel?" He feels her mutter a small okay, as she gets up, offering her hand to him as he's at the edge. "Let's go take care of the bill."

Y/N chuckles, "Already did, Harry."

Harry pulls her back, turning her to face him, "When?"

"The restroom, oldest trick in the book."

"Sneaky, sneaky."

Y/N, let's Harry lead the way out this time; they say goodnight to the staff and hurry over to the car. He didn't bring a coat, and he still wasn't used to how cold California got at night. He thought summer meant warm nights with a gentle breeze, not chilly air. Y/N seemed to not mind it, not hurrying after Harry as he jumped into the passenger seat.

"Afraid of the cold, H."

"Yes, why is it so bad?"

"Didn't you get snow in December up in the peach state? Also, aren't you from where the sun never shines?" Y/N teases him as she settles in her seat, turning on the heater for Harry.

"We visit occasionally; I can handle the weather with the appropriate clothing." He pouts at her, rubbing his arms.

Y/N turns around, reaching for something in the backseat before settling in again and settling it in Harry's lap. She doesn't say anything besides dazzling him with a smile and pulling out of the parking lot.

Harry slips it on over his head and finds it fits him loose, "I hope you know you might not be getting this back."

Y/N turns to look at him as he drags the collar up to his cheek to feel the softness it still holds, "That's my coach sweater. Kate got me a few, all in different sizes; I wear this one because I like baggy hoodies."

Harry smiles at her, he knows everything they have done has been in reverse, but he loves how confident she is. He knows she's been hurt before in the past from what she's shared but not once has he felt her trying to hide or push him away. He wants to tell her everything he's kept locked inside, he's never felt like this before, and he hopes the feeling never goes away.

"You know, if people see you wearing the sweater, they'll start talking."

Harry turns in his seat, facing her as the street lights shine on her face. "Let them. I've got no shame in people thinking you're my girlfriend. If I'm lucky enough, it might come true."

Y/N shakes her head, thankful for the darkness because he won't be able to see how her face heated up. The drive to his house was short, he wished for the night to never end, but even he knows he's not that lucky. Harry lets her know it's okay to pull into his driveway as he had his car parked on the curb right.

"I'll walk you to your door." Harry holds her hand the short way to where they will soon have to say goodnight.

Harry doesn't try getting his keys out; instead, he turns her to look at him, wanting to remember her in this moment forever. His last first date. Call him crazy, but there was no one else for him. It was always Y/N; he just had to find her.

"I had the best night with you," Harry whispers, pulling her close by her waist. She rests her hands on his shoulders and nods. "We're doing this again, Y/N."

"I got a second date." She cheers.

Harry leans his forehead against hers, smirking as he hears her breath hitch. "You get a second, a third, a fifth, a one hundred. You name it, you got it."

He's so close to closing the gap between them, feeling their breaths mix together.

"That means you'd be stuck with me for a long time."

"I want to say forever, but that might be too soon."

"Our secret." She whispers, her eyes dancing from his lips to his eyes. "Please kiss me, H."

Harry knows he won't ever be able to deny anything she wishes in life, mainly because he was close to losing her once before.

His lips moved slowly, savoring the feel of her against him as he pulled her close, letting himself rest against the door. He felt the butterflies in his stomach going crazy as she moved her hands to his hair, tugging on the small curls. Harry pulled back in fear of letting out a moan at the intense pleasure she made him feel.

Y/N pulls back breathless but presses her lips to his cheek, not wanting him to touch to go far. "Will you give me another, darlin'," Y/N nods a starry look in her eye as she lets Harry swoop in and take control of the kiss. This second kiss is faster and more passionate. Harry was holding back before, but now he wants her to feel everything he makes her feel. Harry wants her to know he gives her goosebumps and fireworks.

"I could kiss you all night." Harry trails kisses on her cheeks, loving how lost in his touch she is.

"Too bad, I need to rest. I've got to coach a game tomorrow."

That statement is enough to bring Harry back to reality, where he has to wake up extra earlier to pick up his daughter then drive her to the game. They have to say goodnight, even though neither one of them wants to.

Harry pulls away, dropping his hands from her waist; Y/N follows by letting her hands slide down from his hair.

"See you tomorrow?" He winks at Y/N as she walks backward, creating distance between them.

"Of course, we got a semi-final to win."

Y/N walks to her car, touches her lips feeling the lingering heat on when he kisses her breathless. She is turning on her car, making sure her headlights are on, when she sees Harry rushing down the steps toward her, the smile on his face contagious.

"What is it?" She asks as she rolls down her window, knowing she wouldn't leave soon if she got out.

"A kiss for the road."

Y/N couldn't dare deny him a kiss, especially when she was craving more already.

Harry slipped a hand the back of her neck, fearing she'd pull back sooner than he wanted. Her lips tasted like cherry; he figures she put on chapstick. This was only their third kiss, but it had only gotten better. Harry swiped his tongue against her bottom lip, begging for entrance, but she pulled back, letting out a breathless laugh at the pout he made, no longer able to feel her against him. She leans and pecks at the corner of his mouth, whispering a goodnight as he steps back, letting her drive away.

It may be too soon, but he might just love her.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

The semi-final had to be one of the most intense games she had seen the young girls play. It was goal after goal from each team, neither one backing down on the pressure.

In the second half, she told them she was proud that if they kept playing how they were, this game was theirs. Going in a 3-2 lead, the girls stood shocked when, in a corner kick, the other team had been able to get it into the back of the net and over Dawson.

Kate thought this might knock them down, but it sparked something in all of them. All the parents stood up from their seats when they saw them dance around the opposing team switching the ball side to side. Honestly, it was something far advanced than they've ever presented.

Y/N was in awe; their communication was at a new level. There wasn't much time left, and Kate feared penalty kicks even if they were prepared for it.

Lani had control of the middle field; she just needed to get it past their defense. Juliet had defenders marking her tight, no way able to make a run towards the goal. If they played it right, Juliet would draw them out, leaving a gap allowing them to make a run for it. That's all they needed for a foot race.

Kate was sitting on the bench holding tightly onto Sarah Beth's hand, not able to take the pressure; then again, no one could take it. It all happened so fast; one moment, Juliet ran towards the midfield, two defenses following close behind when she got a touch on the ball, letting her send it back where it came from, then straight down the line. Jo and Franny ran down both sides too far ahead to be stopped; Jo was able to get a touch on it, crossing it straight to Franny, who shot at goal but was stopped by the opposing goalie. Jo was there for the rebound striking it in.

Goal!

She did it. She made the final goal.

Jo was quick to be bombarded by the rest of her teammates hugging her as they ushered back for the kick-off. Y/N wished she could run in there and hug her, telling her how proud she was, but for now, shouting 'great job' and 'stay focused' would be enough. Y/N looked over at Harry, who was wiping his tears still yelling proudly for his daughter, and like he knew she was staring, he looked over at her giving her the cheesiest grin she had ever seen on him.

The game finished, and the Golden Sparks won another game, taking them to the final the following week. Y/N congratulated the girls telling how proud she was of them and the hard work they put in each game. She told them she can't wait to see them on Monday and to have a wonderful weekend. Then told their parents to spoil them a little extra this weekend that earned a cheer from all the girls.

As Y/N was packing up her things, Kate and a few other parents already helped carry everything over to Kate's car. She felt arms around her waist.

"Hey, quickster," Y/N says, turning, allowing her niece to hug her properly.

"The girls are going to get ice cream if you want to go with them; Emilia's mom will text you the address," Juliet asks, but Y/N has spent enough time with them and wants to let them be.

"Thanks for the offer, but you have a good time. I'll let your mom know Emilia's mom is dropping you off." Juliet nods, giving her one more hug before hurrying over to Emilia's car, where Jo also happens to get in. She sends them away; she notices Harry a few vehicles over putting a bag away when she reaches her car.

Something comes over her because the next thing she knows, she's calling his name and standing next to him.

"Hiya, love. Doing alright?"

Y/N tucks her hair behind her ear and nods, "Yes, all good. That was an exciting game."

"Good to hear."

"You doing anything now?" She asks, peeking over her shoulder, seeing Kate has her eye on her, but she just rolls her eyes before looking back at Harry.

"Going home, my munchkin left me."

"Well, there's a great Mexican restaurant here if you'd like to join me for lunch."

Harry smirks, "Asking me on another date, are you?"

"I have to when I know you're still a bit nervous about making a move," she confesses bashfully.

Harry's not surprised she can so easily read him; all the walls he had left are gone.

"Then I'd be honored."

"Great, uh good. Just follow me then."

Arriving, they were seated quickly. A plate of chips and salsa were delivered shortly, Harry asked for guacamole. Y/N didn't argue, knowing for many people that was one of their favorite dips. Personally, she wasn't a fan. She didn't like the texture. Most people were shocked at the revelation, and no doubt Harry would as well.

"What's good here, love?" Harry says, leaning into her side to peek at her menu instead of opening his.

"Hmmm...honestly everything. I always get something different when I come, but you can never go wrong with tacos."

"Alright, you want to share?"

Y/N shrugs, "We can. I'm not picky, but I am starving."

"Have some guacamole; you haven't gotten any."

"No thanks, I'm not a fan."

"You serious?"

"Yes, Harry."

"That's strange."

"What is?" She sets the menu down to look over at him.

"I mean, it's fine. At least you'll never buy avocado toast for like six dollars." He chuckles, and Y/N can't help but join in.

Their waiter comes over, "Estan listos para ordenar?"

Y/N nods, "Hola, si. Dos tacos de asada, y dos de al pastor. Por favor."

Harry is staring intently at his menu, not speaking a word as they wait for his order. "You alright, darling?"

He leans close to whisper in her ear, not able to focus on the term of endearment, "Can you order for me?"

She doesn't tease him, just smiles, "Y una orden de enchiladas rojas."

Their waiter smiles and walks away, promising to be back shortly.

"Have we discussed you speaking a second language?"

"I thought we had." She brushes it off like it's no big deal.

"I don't think so."

"Okay, I took YMCA classes from age seven and did so all the way until college. Even have a minor in Spanish."

"Impressive."

"Sorry if you felt uncomfortable. They speak English as well but primarily speak Spanish."

Harry shakes his head, not wanting her to feel bad, "No, I was just caught by surprise. Hearing you speak Spanish was a turn-on."

"I'll keep that in mind." She winks at him, glad to see the blush spread on his cheeks.

Lunch went great, just as she had expected. They shared food, Y/N enjoying Harry's enchiladas much more than the tacos. Harry happily ate the three tacos she left after eating most of his plate, not that he minded. Y/N appreciated how open he was in sharing food. She had always done it growing up, so Harry allowing her to do the same made her find more profound comfort in their already growing relationship.

Harry beat her to the bill, and she let him take it not without letting him know she'd get it the next time. They stood outside together, allowing the nice breeze to brush over then neither one was eager to say goodbye. They knew they would see each other soon, but with the growing affection, they just craved more time together, more time getting to know each other.

Harry had her pressed against her car door, hidden from the view of others. "We should do this again."

"We should," she agrees.

"My house Thursday night, Josie is going out with Sarah and Mitch to watch a movie, most likely do a sleepover as well."

"I'd like that. We'll see if you can maybe have a sleepover yourself."

Harry smirks, liking the idea of her spending the night with him, not caring that they both had work the following day.

"Are you going to kiss me?"

"I want to."

"You have my full permission," she teases.

Y/N met him halfway and pressed, letting him press his lips against hers. As she kissed him back, she wanted him to feel how much she liked him, how fast she was falling for him. His hands wrapped around her waist tight; it gave her comfort. She knew he wouldn't let go until she asked.

She felt her beat just a little fast as she left out a soft moan; she shifted closer as his mouth opened over hers and his tongue slid between her lips.

He was in control of her. She did not mind one bit.

With a sigh, she tilted her so he could kiss her more deeply; he didn't need any encouragement to do as she wished. His kiss became more intense, she could feel the burn between her thighs, wanting more, needing more, and that's when she knew she had to pull back, but he beat her to it.

Harry pulls back, staying close enough that he could steal another kiss, "God, I can't get enough of you."

He surprised her, how open he became with her feelings, she hadn't asked how his therapy was going, but god, it must have been doing wonders if she could feel every emotion that was going through him as she gazed into his loving emerald eyes.

"I'll see you soon, darling." Harry took that as his cue to let his hold of her go.

"Not soon enough," he whispers.

"You'll see me Monday," she reminds him.

"Can I steal a kiss then?"

"If you're lucky."

Y/N knew it wouldn't be long until she could say she was in love with Harry.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Harry never thought he'd be the type of guy to be excited over a simple call or text reading: 'I'm thinking of you." She's made him feel good and confident in their relationship. He sent flowers to her work that led to her sending him a selfie with her face buried in the flowers.

At practice, he knew she couldn't pay attention to him, but that didn't mean he couldn't. He saw how fast she moved with the ball showing the girls a new drill, then doing it again slowed down, making sure they all understood. He admired how she never got frustrated. He knew how hard it was to handle one eight-year-old, but sixteen was impressive. He'd sit there for hours just admiring her if he could.

On Tuesday, he called Alycia, the receptionist at Y/N's office, asking for her lunch schedule, wanting to drop by and leave her lunch. She let him know she was taking it later that day at 2 since she was so busy. He decided that a BLT sandwich from two blocks away would do as she had once expressed to him how well done they were, promising to take him one day.

He walked in, noting how few people were in the waiting room, but eagerly stepped up to the counter. Alycia greeted him kindly, now seeing him more than once when he took Josie to her first session. Josie showed improvement, and each time he brought her, he made sure to leave a note behind for Y/N.

As he told Alycia to give you the food, there Y/N came walking down the hall. He was surprised at how casual, yet professional her look was; she had a silky oversized button shirt tucked into her linen pants, wearing her brown loafers he knew she didn't use often.

"Alycia, can you update this- Harry!" Y/N looks shocked to see him standing in front of her, not at all expecting to see him; she just planned on calling him later at night like they had been doing the past few days.

"Hi, love. Brought you lunch." He smiled sheepishly, holding up the bag.

She laughs, handing over the file to Alycia then stepping towards Harry to wrap him in a hug she has been wanting to do since she laid eyes on him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight against him, taking in her sweet honey scent. Before pulling back, remembering, after all, she was at work.

"I'm starving, thank you, darling. I was about to head out." Y/N rubs her stomach jokingly.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. See you tomorrow."

Y/N pouts, "You're not staying?"

"Well, I didn't want to assume."

"Assume, please." She laughs at the smile she gets Harry to give her.

They excuse themselves from Alycia and walk towards her office. They take a seat on her couch as Harry hands her the sandwich. They ate together, and for the forty-five minutes they had together, it was perfect; they shared stories of how their week was going at how Josie was anxious for the game and just promising to see each other soon. Harry got a kiss goodbye and was glad he would be seeing her the following day.

It's Thursday night, and Harry will finally get her for more than half an hour. Josie left a few hours ago to watch the movie with Sarah and Mitch, her sleepover bag on her shoulder not at all a surprise for Harry. He glanced around his house and knew it wasn't the cleanest. Josie always had some stuff scattered around the house, but he knew it just gave the house character.

"Hey, I'm outside," Y/N tells him on the phone before hanging up.

He rushes to the door, swinging it open to see her shut the door with her hip before making her way to him, a grin on her face as she carries a pink box in one hand and what he assumes to be food in another.

"You said you don't always like having to cook, and I know you said you love Thai." She giggles as he reaches to take the bag out of her hand, letting the smell take over.

"This is sweet, love. I appreciate it."

"Well, of course," she shrugs off his compliment. "I wanted to do something nice."

"I feel like I should be the one doing sweet things for you," he confesses as he guides her to his kitchen.

Y/N frowns, "Darling, we can move past that."

"Can we?"

"Of course, I feel like we've grown in the last few weeks. There's a different type of trust, don't you think?" She turns to face him, knowing the conversation was serious.

"Do you know how sorry I am?"

She nods, slowly stepping towards him, stopping right in front of him. She lifts her hand under his chin to have him look at her. "I do, and I forgive you. Sometimes we let our emotions win."

"I hope you know I'd never do that again." His voice is soft.

"I know."

She leans in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to his lips.

"Dinner?" She beams.

"Yes, of course."

The meal is good, probably one of the best foods he's had in a long time. She didn't pick this up from his usual place but wouldn't tell him where she went. Told him she needed to keep some things to herself to keep surprising him. Harry finished most of the meal and then opened the pink box she left on the table that held a mixture of donut holes.

"You've still got room," she exclaims.

"They smell so good." He defends. Y/N laughs but rejects the offer to have one.

After cleaning up, he leads them to the living room, deciding to watch a movie. The scroll endlessly for a few minutes before settling on Life As We Know It. Harry shared that it was one he enjoyed watching back, and she agreed.

They had only gotten thirty minutes in before they began chatting. Y/N went on about how she was planning a trip to take two up north wanting to visit June Lake and hike some trails. Y/N's sister was going to see Xavier's family in San Diego, so they couldn't go up with her. Harry, without thinking, said if she'd have them, they could go. She didn't respond, making him assume she didn't want them to join, but she surprised him by hugging him.

"Best idea you've had tonight. I'll make all the reservations. Just let me know when you're free." She told him before settling back down next to him, her hand on his thigh going back to the movie. She was grinning at the montage of Holly and Eric and how they were learning how to co-parent Sophie. Harry had not taken his eyes off of her; she laughed as Sophie pooped in Eric's old hat.

"You're staring." She narrows her eyes at him, suspicious.

"It's because you're beautiful."

"Thank you," she answers timidly. "Very sweet of you."

"Of course, I'm going to spend the rest of my life telling you how beautiful you are if you let me."

"God, you're smooth."

Harry smirks, "Smooth enough for a kiss."

She didn't answer him; she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him forward so that he could meet her halfway, and pressed her lips against his. Harry was quick to take control, slipping his hands around her waist and placing her on his lap, "this okay," he asked, quickly pulling back making sure she said yes. Once he had a go-ahead, he went back to her lips; she shifted closer, now touching chest to chest, not a single space in between as his tongue slipped into her mouth, prideful of the moan she released against his mouth.

Harry smoothed his hands from down her waist to rest on her ass, then cupped her and held her to him as he thrust against her. He pulled back for a second fearful he went too far; Y/N frowned, slowly opening her eyes whispering "again" against his lips, and who was he to deny her.

She could feel his hesitation, slid her hands up, and cupped his jaw, "You're okay, we're okay. You're taking care of me. I want this."

Harry swallowed hard, noting she never stopped rocking herself on top of him. His mouth curved in a slight grin, pushing up to meet her, he felt her go soft in his arms, and that's when he really realized the effect he has on her.

He needed her lips on him, it had only been a few moments, but he was craving her. He laid a string of kisses up her neck until he reached her mouth, lips swollen, but he knew she was eager for more.

"Harry, please." She had a hand tangled in his curls, needing to close the distance.

"I got you, love."

He tilted her head, allowing him to kiss her deeply, the kiss only more intense than before. If he didn't need to breathe, he would kiss her forever, never stopping.

"So pretty, all those moans just for me,"

"All for you," she breathes out.

Harry smirked, moving her up and down over his pants at a steady rhythm, but she was fighting for control.

"Harry."

"It's alright, love, let yourself go. Show me how pretty you look when you come."

Y/N was so close, tensed her thighs around him about to reach her release when they heard a phone ringing, halting their movements. Harry groans, pressing one more lingering kiss to her puckered lips, before reaching over to the side table to his right for his phone, "not me."

She holds back a whine, getting up for her phone inside her jacket. "Whoever it is, don't answer," he half-jokes.

Y/N giggles and looks at the caller as she swipes right to answer, "it's my niece."

Harry watches as she nods, telling her to relax and that she'd be right over.

"Has our night been cut short?"

"It has. Juliet got in an argument with her dad and is now threatening to move out."

"What," he laughs, standing up as he watches her shrug her jacket on.

"Yeah, to the backyard or with me."

"She really made you a mediator."

Y/N laughs, shrugging.

As Harry is walking her to the car, he can't believe how the night turned or would have. "You know I thought it would have been my child who interrupted us."

"Well, your daughter is an angel next to Juliet."

"You really think so,"

"I know so."

"You make it so easy to fall for you," he confesses, wrapping her in a hug before she leaves him for the night.

"Harry."

"What, I mean it."

She leans up to kiss his cheek, "I'm sorry we didn't get to finish."

"Me too."

"I hope you know once I'm in bed tonight, I'll be thinking of you."

"That's not fair."

"Why not?"

"Because I want to be the one taking care of you, making a mess of you."

"We'll get there," she promises.

Harry leans in and kisses her; it's short and sweet.

"Night, Harry. See you Saturday."

"See you then. Goodnight, love."

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

It's bittersweet honestly, it's the final game of the season. The girls have worked very hard to get where they are now: at the championship game. After this game, win or lose, they'll have a month off. No one will call her asking for an extra jersey, asking her for a ride, or texting her what time the game was, even with them owning the schedule. They'd all get a break until mid-September.

Harry and Josie were the first to arrive, while Kate and Y/N were setting up the warm-up drill.

"Loverboy is here." Kate teases as they walk to the bench.

"Stop." Y/N looks over at them, seeing them heading this way. "Styles family, good to see you."

"Hiya, Coach."

"Hello, Jo. You're going to go get ready?" Y/N says, looking down at the girl's black crocs with Avengers pins.

"Yup," she skips away, sitting on the grass next to Kate, who's pumping air in a few balls.

"Harry, hi."

"No darling," he teases."

She narrows her eyes at him, "I'll have you sit with the other parents if you keep teasing."

Harry looks appalled; she'd suggest such a thing, "Now that hurts."

"You know I thought you'd be sweeter, especially about that wonderful night we had Thursday."

A smile tugs up Harry's face at the memories, "My apologies, didn't want to upset my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Y/n doesn't hide her surprise.

"Yeah, uh, we've gone out enough. I like you, and I'm going out on a limb here that you like me," she nods, allowing him to continue. "You're marvelous and love, Josie; god, you even gave her a nickname. I want this; I really want to hold your hand and keep going on dates with you and kiss you. I never want to stop.

She smiles, stepping into his embrace, "I'll be your girlfriend, boyfriend."

"Enough to risk a kiss?"

She doesn't reply; instead, she leans in, giving him a chaste kiss.

"Now go be a good parent and take a seat."

Harry does so. The smile on his face mirrors her own.

The game passed in a blur; the four quarters finished quickly. Y/N had thought they lost to the other team carrying a two-one win over them. The girls didn't look defeated, but each girl she subbed came out with a sigh but cheered as the minutes counted down.

Everyone hated losing, including herself.

Then out of nowhere, Priscilla, a usually shy player, gets a touch on the ball and sends it towards the goal. The goalie lets it slip under her, and what do you know they scored. The cheers seem endless; Y/N isn't bothered with the time, knowing there isn't much left in the final quarter.

This gives the girls a new motivation like a spark has been lit. It's a game of keep-away, Blue Devils not giving up easily. Abby gets the ball at her feet, and she freezes; the goalie is running right towards her, the defense kept away by the others; it's not until someone shouts, "Shoot!" that the young girl lifts her left foot shooting it through the goalies' legs and hitting the back of the next. Then just like that, the referees blow the whistle and call the game.

The Golden Sparks had won the championship. Y/N felt the tears in her eyes, thankful for the sunglasses hiding her overflowing emotions.

Y/N laughs as she feels Kate hug her and begin jumping up and down.

"We did it!!"

"They did it!"

Y/N is swept through the motions as she shakes hands with the coaches and claps the opposing team's hands. It's not until Juliet runs towards her with full force, knocking her onto the grass, wrapping her arms around her waist, that she's brought back to the moment. Then before she knows it, there are fifteen more girls joining in on the group hug. She's not sure when Kate was dragged into it, but she feels their joy.

They have a lifetime of wins and losses coming ahead in their young lives, but she's happy to be part of one that brings them so much happiness.

The young girls help her get up before hurrying over to their waiting parents. Juliet is being smothered in kisses by her parents. Josie is passed around by Harry's friends and her godparents, congratulating her on the win. Each girl showing off their small first place trophies, indeed to be displayed for all to see somewhere in their home.

Y/N has waved almost everyone off, telling them she would see them for pizza and drinks at their usual location. She took one look around the emptying field and felt she did well this season, but there was also room for her to grow as a coach.

"Looks like you're a champion, love."

Y/N turns around to find Harry smiling at her, Josie a few feet behind, waving to a couple with a baby. "Think she's the champ; she played the game. You did wonderful out there, Jo." She grins as Jo looks at her proudly.

"I still think you should be congratulated; you led these girls. Taught them and helped them grow into becoming better little humans." he shares, grabbing her hand pulling her into his chest.

"Well, thank you." Y/N looks down at Josie, who's crouched down trying to pick up what's likely to be a worm, "Ready for some pizza, Jo?"

Josie nods, not looking up too entranced on the creature in her hands now.

"Can I give you a gift, you know for uh...winning?"

"Course, I like presents." She grins at him, eager for what it could be.

His fingers curled into her nape and pulled her head into his as he kissed her softly. She felt his full lips move over hers; she felt how much he felt for her. As Harry brought their kiss to an end, he pulled back and looked into Y/N's eyes. "Was it a good gift?"

"The best," she answers before they are interrupted by a giggling Josie, who is staring up at them.

"Does this mean you're together?" Jo asks.

Y/N and Harry share a look before looking back at Josie, who's patiently waiting, "yes."

"Oh my! Dreams come true!" She shouts, running circles around them.

"Isn't meeting dad's girlfriend too soon a bad thing?" Y/N asks Harry.

"Not when you know you're never letting go."

"Oh, I like the sound of that." She lets pull her towards him, his arm resting comfortably over her shoulder.

"Plus, you're meeting all my friends at the pizza place, they all came to cheer on Josie, and you did say everyone was invited."

"I might just regret saying that."

"It'll be fine. Not a chance you don't win them all over."

Y/N brings them to a halt, Harry smiling down at her. This is happiness; she never wants to forget it. Harry leans in, letting their mouths meet in a kiss, soft and passionate as they both spill their feelings for another, hoping that with each passing second, the emotions only get stronger and stronger.

Harry pulls back, resting his forehead against hers, "I don't know what the future will bring, but I'm glad we'll be able to see it together."

Josie walks a few steps in front of them, leading the conversation. Harry and Y/N listen intently, holding each other tightly because this is what their future will consist of; more soccer games, more smiles, more laughs but most importantly, more love.

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

thank you so much for reading <3333

I adore you. take care xx

[idamariaw]

Harry’s Candy Cane Lane

In which Harry owns a candystore and you might just be the sweets he really needs.

Harry didn’t know what to do. As a 20 year old with the world ahead of him, it was time to decied what to do in life, what he wanted to work with from years come. He had tried different stuff from when he was a teenager who needed a summerjob and to pay his bills. Everything from reatail to caretaking. He knew that he loved children, being around them and making people happy. He didn’t have 3 godchildren already for nothing. Being a teacher or a doctor was although not something he could see himself working with in the longterm, it didn’t interest him enough to get through all those years in university. Business was the degree that made most sense at the moment and something that he could put through quite easy, he wasn’t a dummie and had always done good in school. So that’s what he did, he got in business school and worked hard to earn his degree while trying to figure out what to do with it. Graduation came and then it hit him, the perfect idea. He would start a candystore business! Fun, unique and quality candy from all around the world for kids and their familys to enjoy. The town he lived in wasn’t all to big but new ideas and businesses were always welcome and appriciated so why not give it a try, he could always do something else with his degree if things didn’t work out.

Opening day came and it was a huge success. The store wasn’t too big or to small, just the right size to fit a comfortable amount of customers and still feeling personal. It had a big window to the street with a fronting themed with a mix between ”Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, ”Alice in Wonderland” and a fair festival. The banner over the door was blue with big pink letters spelling the store’s name ”Harry’s Candy Cane Lane”. With the town being a smaller one, everyone knew who Harry was and he came to have lots of regular customers buying candy for weekends, holidays, birthday parties etc. He even got the idea to make home deliverence service with different candythemes to children parties that became very popular and let him be creative in a way he needed. It was hard work but it was all worth it when he saw the twinkling eyes and genuin smiles the children and their parents got every single time they opened the door to his candystore. It’s like the world outside disappeared for them for a while and everything was just a fantasy that Harry was more than willing to let the little loves explore. Small chunky hands reaching up with a pound to his register to pay for a lolly and the brightest smiles when leaving the store, it would make anyones heart melt.

Even though being passionate and caring by nature, Harry and his attire didn’t go well along women. Being in his 30’s now, loving his job and his life, he had long forgotten to care about what people thought about him or the business. He’s proud of himself and what he’s achieved which rubbed off on his style and his home. He lived in a two bedroom apartement above his candystore, a lucky shot, and it was just blooming with different colours in every room and thrifted decorations from different eras with plants in every corner which made him feel like home. His personal style was no different, often dressed in a whole ammount of bright colours and patterns that complemented his unruly chocolate brown curls and forrest green eyes. Nails always painted with different colours every week which became a popular subject to talk about with the children coming in to his store and somehow became a lesson of how boys and girls can dress and express themselves how the liked, there’s no right or wrong especially in a candyland. As said before, even adult women didn’t seem to have this kind of mindset as they thought he was quite childish and cheesy with his attire and the business being aimed for children most. He wasn’t ”manly” in the sense society said he should be and even if he was a loving caring soul it was always to his disadvantage accourding to his lovelife. So he set that aside and got himself a cocker spaniel puppy named ”Cherry” from his favourite candyflavour and she was with him in the store everyday since then. She brought a lot of joy and snuggles to the customers and even did great marketing for him in his social media from being such a cutie. One of his favourite pictures was easily the one where Cherry sat on the doormat outside the store with a candycane in her mouth, santa hat on her head and a sign at her paws reading ”Merry Christmas and a Jolly (Rancher) New Year!”

Life was good and he couldn’t complain, even though he knew in his heart how much more love he wanted to share with a lover.

One day when the customer rate was a bit slow, he took his time to clean among his stock in the back for the seasonal Halloween candy that was over for the year when he heard the familiar bell at the door announce a new customer. Cherry laid in her bed at the register, not paying to much attention as she was used to the sound now. Harry just stuck his head ut from the back to shout ”Hello! I’ll be with you in a second!” which a smooth, sweet and melodic voice answered ”Oh it’s okay, take your time!” He piled the last boxes in the back to continue with later as he straighted his clothes and got out to the main store and what he saw could literally be described as angel fallen from the sky. A beautiful woman with a breathtaking smile, long silky hair and eyes you could drown in made him absolutley speachless. He doesen’t stumble on his words very often and had always been good with talking to customers but with her his throat got dry and his mind foggy. Just as he was gonna try and make a coherent sentence and try not to make a fool out of himself, another silky sweet voice chriped up behind your legs - ”Mummy, Puppy!” The voice belonged to no other than a mini carbon copy of yourself and hands down the cutest toddler Harry had ever seen. The word puppy got Cherrys attention and she came closer to greet the toddler who immedeatly squealed from excitement. He heard you spoke up again to your daughter ”Penny! You need to ask the man for permission first to pet the puppy, okay? C’mere please” It seemed like his brain finally caught on and he crouched to your daughters hight so he could talk straight to her ”Ofcourse you can pet the puppy, she loves a good snuggle! Her name is Cherry and she’s very friendly I promise” before turning up to you again. ”I’m Harry by the way, is there anything I can help you with today?” Suddenly he had no problem with looking straight into your eyes and as he did he notcied a slight blush creeping through the apple of your cheeks. Hm, maybe it was from being outside, it was a bit chilly now after all. ”Nice to meet you Harry, I’m Alice! Yeah, um we just came from the town nearby after hearing about you and your store. Penny, the little dogwhisperer here, is turning three in a couple of weeks and I would really like to make it special with one of the candythemed parties that could be arranged by you? I saw some pictures on your instagram and it all looks so lovley!” Shit. Shit shit shit. Calm the fuck down Harry, she just wants help with her daughters birthday party. It feels deeply unprofessional but he notices that you don’t have a wedding band so he does the first thing that comes to mind ”No problem! You can just send me a DM on Instagram with the theme you want or bits and pieces of things you like and I can work from there. Is there a partner that would like to be involved as well?” There’s a prominent blush on your cheeks now and he sees you watching his mouth before you bite your bottom lip and answers ”No, it’s just us two”.

My first writing!! Please tell me of you want a part 2 💗

[cherienymphe]

Protect & Serve (Steve Rogers x Reader)

WARNINGS: Cop!Steve, mentions of abuse, mentions of miscarriage, eventual STALKING/KIDNAPPING/NON-CON

IF ANY OF THIS OFFENDS YOU, PLEASE DNI

Also this series will be based off of one of my worst fears, so you guys have fun with this.

➥ {page breaks done by @whimsicalrogers​}

summary:  escaping an ugly past, you have no choice but to return home. While much has remained the same, Officer Rogers is a new addition who has won over the hearts of the town in your absence. And no one believes you when you start to see him for who he really is

~

You threw the last of your empty boxes into the garbage in front of your house. Your back ached, and your legs were screaming for a reprieve, but you’d been determined to finish unpacking by the end of the day. And so you had.

The cicadas were loud in the nearby trees, the dark sky decorated with stars. Though you were back down south, you’d forgotten how cool the nights could get. You tightened your sweater around you as you looked along the street. In the years past, so much had changed…but a lot had remained the same.

With a sigh, you turned to make your way back into the house. You’d been running like a train nonstop for the past 3 days, determined to completely unpack and get settled long before school started back. You wanted one less thing to worry about.

You placed your back against the door as you closed it, taking a calming breath and locking it. You closed your eyes, reminding yourself that you were safe. Your ex-husband was far away and none the wiser to your location. You had nothing to be afraid of. You chanted this to yourself until you were able to finally move away from the door.

Your modest house was so quiet, and you welcomed the silence as you made your way upstairs. The atmosphere was so peaceful, and for the first time in a long time, you could hear your own thoughts. Living with Aldrich for so long, you’d forgotten what that had felt like.

He was regularly criticizing anything he could think of, his biting words packaged in a smile that was a tad too wide. Kissing you a tad too harsh and grabbing you a tad too tight. You honestly didn’t know how you’d put up with it for so long. You were disappointed with yourself, but even more disappointed that it took a miscarriage for you to finally leave him.

It should never have come to that.

You settled into bed, somewhat uncomfortable, but only in a way that was unfamiliar to you. You were alone and safe and at peace for the first time in years. Determined to have a good night’s sleep, you pushed painful thoughts out of your mind, and vowed to make your regrets fuel your new future.

The grocer handed your bags to you with a shy smile on his face, cheeks flushing when your fingers brushed over his.

“Thanks,” you told him.

“Have a good day,” he recited, something he probably said a hundred times a day.

You left with a quiet ‘you too’ thrown over your shoulder before making your way outside. The town was filled with both familiar and unfamiliar faces alike. Sure, you’d been gone for almost 10 years, but you hadn’t expected your small town to have expanded this much in a million years.

You noticed a scratch on the side of your car when you neared it, and you took a closer look. With a huff, you looked around, but no one was parked near you and no shopping carts were close by either. Convincing yourself that it wasn’t that big of a deal, you settled into your car and placed your groceries in the passenger seat.

As you drove down the familiar street, you chuckled to yourself, recalling how you vowed to never return here. The universe had a twisted sense of humor that way because here you were, almost 10 years later, seeking sanctuary in the one place you hated most. Perhaps, in a way, this was your life lesson.

You’d been so desperate to get out of this backwards small town that you’d run off with the first man to give you the chance. How foolish you were then to think you were in love. You were just barely an adult, could hardly even be called one. Aldrich Killian was older and gorgeous and most importantly, he’d been going places.

A chance of luck, or perhaps misfortune, had placed him in your nowhere town, and you’d fallen head over heels immediately. He took to you just the same, and there was no hesitation whatsoever to run off with him to the big city. You left everything and everyone behind without a backwards glance.

He hid his true nature well. So well that it took you an entire two years into the relationship to learn about the other women. Having traveled all the way to New York on his coattails, you’d been distraught…and hurt. You may have been silly then, but not that silly.

He came home the next day to find you gone. His money made it easy for him to track you down at a friend’s place though, and the romantic in you was swayed by the sight of the powerful man on his knees, begging for your forgiveness. Surprisingly, he was true to his word, and from then on out, you were the only one.

But your relief was short-lived. You soon came to find out that these other women had something in common with the way he treated them, and with them out of the picture, you soon had that very same thing in common too.

It started out small. A raised voice here, a harsh grip there, but then he’d slapped you. Real hard too. It had left your ears ringing, and you’d been so shocked, that you didn’t see the next one coming. It became a regular occurrence, but it was always followed up by gifts and apologetic words. He’d be good for a few days, and it became easy to believe things would change. But like clockwork, the cycle repeated.

You hadn’t even known that you were pregnant when he shoved you down the stairs. You could only blink in shock when the doctor told you that you’d suffered a miscarriage. That was one of the first things you heard when you woke up inside of the hospital, and the sudden loss of something you didn’t even know you had was heartbreaking.

So when they asked for the truth, suspicion already in their eyes as they looked at the fading bruises and the fresh ones, you gave it to them without hesitation. Proving it was easy enough, and the divorce papers had been drawn up in no time, but Aldrich had money. A lot of it too.

He didn’t even do some measly community service.

You scoffed in the quiet car, hands tightening on the wheel. All of that was over now. You were back home and far away from him. Things would be different now. They had to be…

You frowned when your car started to sputter, confusion filling you as your eyes widened. You looked at the dash, and your confusion grew as you realized you were completely out of gas. A disbelieving scoff left you as you had no choice but to turn your car off. You sat back in your seat with a sigh, blinking as you realized that you had no one to call.

All of your family was gone, and all of your former friends had long left. The ones that hadn’t, the bridge had been burned long ago. Grabbing yours keys and your purse and the few grocery bags you had, you decided you’d have to walk home. It wasn’t too far of a walk. In New York, it’d be considered nothing.

It was late in the evening though, and you were sure it was going to be dark before you reached your house. You didn’t feel comfortable just leaving your car on the side of the road, but you didn’t exactly have a choice. This stretch of road was lengthy, and the thought of being out here at night made you nervous.

You squinted when red and blue reflected off of the pavement from over your shoulder. You looked over just as a police cruiser pulled up beside you. Your heart skipped a beat when the person inside turned it off and proceeded to exit the car. He curved around the front of the car, and you blinked at the full sight of him.

His blond hair was neatly pushed away from his face, and you sharply inhaled at his handsome features. He was tall, and his blue eyes were focused entirely on you as he approached you. His smile was kind, inviting even, and you were tempted to return it, but something prevented you from doing so. He reminded you of your ex-husband, and you warily eyed the way his uniform hugged him, plastered to the bands of muscle that were his arms.

“Evening, ma’am,” he greeted.

“Good evening,” you murmured.

“Was that your car I passed not too long ago?”

You looked in the direction of where you left your car before nodding.

“I…ran out of gas. Which is odd because I was sure I had over half a tank when I left home,” you told him.

He chuckled, and you frowned at him. Catching sight of your glower, he shook his head, taking a step towards you.

“I’m not laughing at you, I promise. It just seems that the punks in this town got another victim.”

He pointed in the direction of your car.

“You got yourself an older model, one that doesn’t require the gas cap to be opened from the inside. They like to steal gas from whoever they can,” he explained.

With a scoff, you realized they were still pulling that mess the teens did before you left. How silly of you to think the kids here would move onto bigger and better things. The blond before you spoke before you had the chance to.

“You live far?”

You squinted up at him, hesitating before eventually shaking your head.

“Not really…no.”

You watched as he walked to the passenger side, opening the door as he faced you.

“Let me drive you home,” he offered.

Your face pinched, wondering how to refuse. You didn’t get in the car with strangers, no matter their profession. You started to shake your head.

“It’s not that far. I can walk-.”

“It’s going to get dark soon, and you need to get those groceries in the fridge.”

He wasn’t wrong, but still, you hesitated. He threw you a crooked smile, leaning his arm on the open door now.

“I won’t be able to rest if I don’t know you made it home, so if you don’t get in, I’ll just have to ride alongside you,” he teased.

Although, you got the feeling that he was entirely serious. Reluctantly, you walked towards the cruiser.

“Okay.”

He closed the door for you as you made yourself comfortable, clicking your seatbelt into place.

“Are you really that responsible or is it just because you’re in the car with me?” he wondered with a chuckle as he sat beside you.

“Just that responsible,” you murmured as he started the car.

You gave him directions to your house, and he followed them with a hum.

“You’re new,” he suddenly said.

It was a statement, not a question, and you frowned.

“Hardly,” you said, shaking your head.

“Huh. I’ve never seen you around…”

You squirmed in your seat at his questions, and you fought with yourself. You told yourself that you were just so skittish after your ex-husband, and you told yourself to calm down. This man wasn’t him.

“I only recently moved back,” you eventually replied.

“How long you been gone?”

He took a left, and you blew out a breath.

“Almost…10 years?”

He let out a low whistle, tapping his finger on the wheel.

“No wonder. I moved to town about 6 years ago. 10 years is an awfully long time,” he noted. “What made you come back?”

“Divorce.”

He didn’t respond right away, and you could feel him eyeing you.

“I’m sorry,” he quietly said.

“Don’t be,” you honestly replied.

You pointed at your house, and he pulled into the yard. You tried not to be so obvious as you hurried to get out of his car. You were halted by a hand on your arm, and you looked over at him.

“Don’t worry about your car. I’ll get some gas in it and make sure it arrives here safe and sound,” he said with a smile.

“Oh, you don’t have to-.”

“Don’t worry about it. Consider as part of my job description.”

You nodded, finally throwing him a small smile.

“Thank you…” you eyed his badge. “Officer Rogers.”

He chuckled, shaking his head.

“Please…call me Steve.”

You simply replied with a strained smile before exiting the car. He watched you as you made your way to your door, and when you finally got it open, you waved him goodbye. He returned it, but he didn’t drive off. Not even when you closed and locked the door.

Through the window, you watched him sit there for a while, longer than you deemed necessary. Eventually, he pulled out of your yard, and you turned to put your groceries away with a frown.

“Y/N Y/L/N… I haven’t seen you in ages…”

You glanced up at the familiar voice, and your eyes widened as they connected with familiar blue ones. You blinked.

“Wanda,” you greeted in surprise. “…hi.”

She placed her hand on the chair across from you, grinning as her reddish-brown hair spilled around her shoulders.

“So you’re back,” she said.

“So I am,” you nodded. “You look great!”

“You’re one to talk. When you skipped town, you were this confused little girl who didn’t know who she was trying to be. Now you come back here and you’re like something out of every miserable husband’s wet dream,” she teased.

You scoffed at that, shaking your head.

“Hardly…”

“Still as blind as ever, I see. Are you back in the old house?” she wondered.

You shook your head.

“No. I considered it, but… It’s too painful,” you told her.

She solemnly nodded, and you perked up.

“So…do you work here?” you wondered, glancing around the impressive diner.

She smirked.

“Sort of. It’s actually kind of mine now…”

Your lips parted, and a genuine smile fell over them.

“You bought it,” you said, in awe.

“I did,” she breathed, glancing around. “I always said I would…but part of me didn’t think I’d ever do it.”

“…but you did! And it looks amazing! You actually turned this place into something worth coming to,” you complimented her.

She hummed, taking the seat in front of you as she looked around with a wistful sigh.

“This could’ve been ours, you know…”

She looked at you, and you glanced away.

“Yeah, well… I was too busy chasing dick,” you replied, and she laughed.

“You were young and in love! If I’d had an Aldrich Killian offering to whisk me away from here, I’d have done the same too.”

“…and I would have locked you away to prevent you from ruining your life,” you threw back.

Her smile fell, and her eyes dimmed a tad as she studied you.

“Trouble in paradise?”

“There is no paradise. I’m not sure there ever was…”

There was a brief awkward silence, and she suddenly sighed.

“Was he the reason you didn’t come for the funerals?”

You didn’t reply, but there was no need to. She shook her head.

“I knew you wouldn’t just…not come. Everybody else was so convinced, but not me. I knew there had to be a good reason… Where did he drag you to anyway?”

You leaned back in your chair with a wistful smile.

“New York.”

“Was it at least fun?”

You mulled over her question before you shook your head.

“No. Aldrich…liked women,” you said with a shrug.

Wanda’s face fell at that.

“…and…when he gave those women up so I would stay, I found out that…he liked hitting women even more,” you quietly continued.

“Y/N,” she whispered, reaching across the table to take your hand.

“I’m past it…mostly. Some of us just have to learn our life lessons the hard way,” you told her with a shrug.

“Don’t say that. You loved him! That’s hardly worthy of a punishment. Sometimes, people are just shitty, and it has nothing to do with us.”

The bell over the door rang from behind you, and Wanda loudly welcomed them without even glancing up. Several voices filled the establishment, and you noted that they traveled and congregated to a table in the back corner, behind you. You heard footsteps approaching, and Wanda finally glanced up. You watched as she grinned at the newcomer.

“Steve!”

You followed her gaze, and sure enough, it was the officer from the other day. You didn’t know if he was on break or getting off of a shift, but he was still in uniform. His hands were on his hips as he looked between you two, a slow smile moving along his pink lips.

“Wanda…ma’am,” he greeted.

Wanda gestured to you.

“This is my friend-.”

“We’ve actually already met, but I never did get the pleasure of learning your name…”

You cleared your throat, feeling put on the spot as Wanda looked at you.

“Y/N,” you told him.

His smile slowly widened, and he ran his eyes over your face, drinking you in.

“Y/N,” he greeted again. “It’s nice to put a name to the face.”

You simply replied with a tense smile as you laid your arms on the table.

“Wanda, me and the rest of the crew are going to have the usual,” he told her.

“Of course! I’ll get Gwen to get right on it.”

He smiled at her.

“Thanks.”

He looked to you, blue eyes connecting with yours.

“Y/N,” he acknowledged with a nod just before leaving.

“You’re in town for five minutes and already have an admirer,” she slyly said once he was out of earshot.

“No, I’m in town for five minutes, and you’re already trying to set me up,” you corrected.

She waved you off.

“I’m just saying…he’s nice. I’m not telling you to marry the guy, but he’s a good man. As squeaky clean as they come,” she told you.

“So you’re saying that’s what I need?” you sarcastically wondered.

“I’m not saying you need anything. I just think it’d be nice for you…and he clearly likes you. Leave it to you to be back for five minutes and catch the eye of the most sought-after man in town,” she breathed. “Every woman within a 75-mile radius has been trying to bag Steve Rogers ever since he breezed into the city limits 6 years ago.”

“Well then you take him.”

“I would, but I’m happily taken. Besides, he seems to have his eye on someone else. How did you meet him anyway?”

You happily told her of your embarrassing encounter with the man that was sitting not even 5 tables away.

You watched as the tow truck pulled your car just beside the curb in front of your house. Officer Rogers and his cruiser were parked on the other side of the driveway, and the blond man leaned against the vehicle as he supervised the process. Only a few minutes later, and your car was back, and the truck was driving off as Steve waved them off.

You hugged your sweater to you as you approached him. He met you halfway, and you sent him an appreciative smile.

“Thank you,” you breathed. “You honestly didn’t have to do that. I could’ve easily put some gas in it and drove it home.”

“…but you would’ve had to walk to the gas station to fill a gas jug, and then walk to your car,” he said, shaking his head. “It was nothing, really.”

“Either way, I still feel bad. I was more than capable…”

He chuckled.

“So how do you know Wanda? You girls go way back or something?”

“Yeah,” you said with a nod. “We were two troublemakers.”

He found that funny, maybe because Wanda was so different now. He rubbed the side of his neck, and his face slowly began to fall.

“When you told me your name, I thought it sounded familiar, you know. You’re Y/N Y/L/N…aren’t you?”

Your own visage grew solemn, and you slowly nodded.

“I’m sorry about your family. I know it happened years ago, but… I wanted to offer my condolences all the same,” he whispered.

You took a deep breath, chest clenching.

“Thank you. I really appreciate that…and for my car,” you added, trying to lighten the mood. “You really didn’t have to do that…nor drive me home that night.”

The corner of his lips quirked upwards ever so slightly, and his blue eyes sparkled.

“Well…if you’re feeling that bad about it…treat me to dinner,” he offered.

You blinked, taken off guard by his bold proposal, and your lips parted as words failed you. He ran his eyes over you as he waited for your response. You thought about Wanda’s words. She assured you that he was a good guy, and to be honest, you wanted a good guy…but not yet.

Your divorce had only been finalized a few months ago, and you really needed time to yourself. You were barely an adult when you ran off with Aldrich, and you’d spent the last decade with him. You wanted to know who you were when you weren’t with him. You owed yourself that.

“I uh…I’m flattered, really, but… I’m not really interested in anything like that for the time being,” you honestly replied.

His eyes dimmed just a bit, but the smile never wavered. You felt bad.

“I’m really sorry. Besides, it just…doesn’t seem appropriate for some reason.”

Steve sharply inhaled and nodded.

“I understand. Have a good night,” he said before taking a step back and turning to go to his car.

You sighed as you watched him go, but you knew that it was for the best. You made your way inside of your quiet house, hoping for a good night of sleep, but sleep did not easily find you.

Too many things were on your mind.

Seeing Wanda brought back so many memories that you would honestly rather forget. She reminded you of a time you spent sneaking out to meet her, idly dreaming of things you halfway hoped to accomplish. An already rocky relationship with your family that only crumbled when you took off.

You thought about how you didn’t talk to them for years, too busy following Aldrich around like a lost dog. You’d thought you had more time. You had put off what you knew you needed to do again and again. You thought the chance would always be there…until it wasn’t.

In a single night, your entire family had been ripped away from you. A car accident. Something so simple. Aldrich hadn’t even let you go to the funeral. By then, he’d grown possessive, and it wasn’t long after that he started putting his hands on you. Part of you thought he’d waited until you had no one to run to.

You sat up in bed when you heard a noise on the side of your house. You were upstairs, and the fact that it was loud enough to reach your ears worried you. Slowly, and quietly, you left your bed, creeping towards the window.

At first, you didn’t see anything and thought that you’d imagined it. However, what you thought was a part of the general darkness, moved. Your eyes widened, and you reached for your phone, immediately dialing 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

You stumbled over your address, the numbers and street name still new to you, but you shakily told her about the strange man in your yard. Your eyes didn’t leave him the entire time, and relief didn’t fill you when the silhouette eventually left.

One of the upsides to a small town was that it took no time for you to hear sirens coming from down the street. You hurriedly ran downstairs, opening the door as the cruiser pulled into your yard. Steve greeted you, and you did calm down a bit at the familiar face.

“Is he still here?” was the first thing he asked, one hand on his gun.

“I don’t know,” you whispered, placing one hand on your heart and the other on your forehead.

He briefly touched your shoulder before telling you he was going to secure the perimeter of the property. You stood in your doorway while he did so, trying, and failing, to convince yourself that you’d imagined it. After all, the worst thing to happen in your town was your family’s car accident. Strange men skulking about people’s homes was unheard of.

When Steve was done, he shook his head at you, one foot on your steps.

“It’s all clear.”

You didn’t know whether or not to be relieved.

“Are you sure it was a man? Not some animal?”

You shrugged.

“I…don’t know. I was trying to fall asleep just before so it’s possible. I’m sorry,” you apologized.

He sighed.

“It’s alright. This is my job, remember? This is what I’m here for,” he told you.

“Thank you,” you breathed. “I appreciate it, Steve.”

He paused, blue eyes connecting with yours as the corner of his lips curved upwards into a smirk.

“That’s Officer Rogers to you.”

You blinked, brows furrowing just a tad as he turned away.

“You try to get some sleep,” he threw over his shoulder.

You hurriedly closed your door as he drove away, frown deepening as you mulled over his cold behavior.

~

tags: @harryspet​ @darkficreposter​ @mcudarklibrary​ @jtargaryen18​ @kellyn1604​ @readermia​ @sebabestianstan101​ @villanellevi​ @opheliadawnwalker3​ @notyourtypicalrose​ @nickyl316h​ @captainchrisstan​ @coconutqueen21​ @briannab1234​ @buckybarnesplumwhore​

[lokiondisneyplus]

Most Marvel post-credit scenes hint at the future. Loki opted for a blunter approach: the God of Mischief would return in season 2.

Based on the final turn of events, there was really no other choice: Loki (Tom Hiddleston), having journeyed to the furthest point in spacetime with his variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) to meet the founder of the TVA, a scientist-turned-survivor-of-multiversal-war known as He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), finds himself zapped into a new reality when his lady self slays the omnipresent being. The mind reels!

Creator Michael Waldron takes delight in the endless possibilities of Loki’s core premise. And as a veteran of Rick and Morty, he knows what anchors a mind-bending show, and what will keep Hiddleston’s character hurtling through his chaotic, rewritten future. Below, Polygon talks to Waldron about landing on the key choices of Loki season 1, what to expect from season 2, and a bit on his next project, the wrestling drama Heels, which is set to premiere on Aug. 15.

Did you know there’d be a second season of Loki from the beginning or was that choice made later in the process?

Michael Waldron: We always knew that it was a possibility. We always knew that we wanted to propel Loki and these characters out into the MCU after this, into further stories. But that didn’t really crystallize as a sure thing until we were in production and everything. And as we were really figuring out the finale.

So you were still cracking the ending as you shot the show?

There was a hiatus due to the pandemic. So things were constantly being retooled because of that. I think, by and large, everything with He Who Remains and the Sylvie-Loki conflict was always there. But that cliffhanger was the sort of thing that suddenly became a really appealing opportunity, a chance for that to lead into a second season.

What element of the series helped you crack the macro story of Loki, and made all the other pieces fall into place? Each episode almost feels like a standalone adventure, similar to Rick and Morty, but what helped it all click?

The first couple of weeks in the writers room was just laying out the individual episodes. It was very important to me that each episode stood on its own, and you could say “This is the Lamentis episode,” “This is the apocalypse moon episode,” “This is the Void episode.” I didn’t want it to just be cut up chapters and have one long continuous story. Obviously, we had to figure out the time travel for things to slot into place. I think a big idea for us was the way you get around the TVA by hiding in apocalypses. That felt like such a big, cool, exciting idea that it drove the action of episode 2, episode 3, and in a way it’s like Alioth is the ultimate apocalypse that He Who Remains is hiding behind. That sci-fi idea cracked a lot open for us. I know that after we had that I went home and I slept a little sounder.

Did adding the multiverse to the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel like blowing something up or expanding it, in terms of narrative possibilities?

In the same way that after the first couple Iron Man movies, and with the first Avengers, suddenly these movies were kind of going to space. Then we had Guardians. I think of the multiverse as another version of that. It’s new ground to cover, and particularly interesting because characters meeting other versions of themselves and other versions of people they know is... cool. That’s just a cool sci-fi concept! But I think with anything, as you expand outward, it only works if the humanity remains. It’s exciting to watch characters dealing with big crazy multiversal conflicts because we can see ourselves in them. I think you just have to hold on to the humanity that makes these stories work in the first place.

Did you go back to the Thor movies for Loki? Was there anything to find in the past of Marvel as you were paving the future?

Absolutely. I mean I watched them many times, contrary to what Twitter might think because I did some bits on there saying that I’ve never seen Avengers and I upset some people [laughs]. I have seen it many times. “Confirmed: Loki writer has seen Avengers and saw it before writing Loki show.”

In fact, I was watching all these movies on a loop in the writers’ room. I gleaned so much because you watch the evolution of the character. Avengers was particularly informative because our story picks up Loki right after that, but I also I found a lot of inspiration in Thor: The Dark World, a maybe sometimes maligned movie that I actually really enjoy. I just think there’s great stuff with Loki being tangentially responsible for the death of his mother, how he reacts to that. That is the start of his journey of that version of Loki’s redemption, so I was inspired by that.

What’s propelling the characters into season 2? Where are you headed in basic terms?

In season 1, you saw a lot of characters reckoning with and questioning their own glorious purpose, and that glorious purpose changing, [characters] realizing that that can change. Everybody except for Sylvie. I think she holds onto hers, which is vengeance, and to the detriment of us all, perhaps. And we’ve got a Loki who, at the top of our show, assessed himself as a villain and, I would argue, at the end of our show, has become a little bit of a hero. There’s nothing more heroic to me than fighting for the right thing and losing. You see that washing over him as he’s there back at the TVA, after Sylvie has knocked back there. And then he gets up because that is what heroes do — they keep going. So I think that you’re gonna see a Loki that looks at himself in a different way certainly that at the top of this.

Do you hope to explore more of Sylvie’s backstory in season 2?

I guess we’ll see. We certainly have our own rich backstory for her, stuff that didn’t get to make it into the show. Elissa Karasik, our episode 2 writer, wrote a lot of amazing backstory for Sylvia and everything. So those ideas exist out there.

And her version of Thor?

Tune in.

How did He Who Remains come about? Did you bring the character to Marvel or was that a character Marvel hoped to introduce?

I was pushing and our team was pushing early on in the writers’ room that it should be a version of Kang up in that Citadel, sort of fusing the mythology of He Who Remains with a little bit of the Immortus mythology. And that was a thing we were excited to do. And it became clear that it actually made sense for our story. The only way we were going to do it was if it made sense, but it was like, who had a better argument for creating the TVA to prevent other versions of themselves from existing then a guy as evil as Kang the Conqueror?

You wrote the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — did Marvel hire you for that after Loki? Does the movie feel like a continuation of the show?

Yeah, that opportunity came as we were getting ready to start production on Loki. It was a pleasure. I got to work with Sam Raimi, a hero of mine. I was in London for five months making that movie at the top of this year. We had a blast. I think that it’s a continuation in as much as ever every Marvel movie is to some extent a chapter in an ongoing story, but these things are meant to stand alone and the most important thing about Doctor Strange too is making the most kick ass Doctor Strange movie we could.

Is Loki a two-part show now or are you invested in telling a longer story with future seasons beyond season 2?

Time will tell, but I do my hope is that season 1 stands on its own. We always wanted to tell a complete story there. And in whatever the next chapter may be will stand on its own as well.

Your next show, Heels, is already on the way. We got a big preview out of Comic-Con this year, but I’m curious about the scope of this story. You’re starting with two brothers running an independent wrestling franchise, but you’ve dropped the name “Vince McMahon” a few times — is this about the building of an empire? Would you liken it to The Godfather or Breaking Bad?

I always thought about it a little bit of a Scorsese-sort-of rise, and we’ll see if there’s a fall. Starting from humble beginnings and trying to build some crazy. Wrestling was certainly not always the empire that it is and that’s what’s interesting, to watch the evolution of a family-run wrestling business from something you do in your small towns and perhaps a national, even global empire. That would be a really compelling arc for a show over the course of several seasons. I’d be excited to explore that.

What’s the most dramatically fulfilling wrestling moment you’ve witnessed? What’s the bar for the wrestling drama of Heels?

It’s gotta be Hulk Hogan turning heel in the WCW. There was an invasion storyline, these guys from WWF, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, came over and they were the bad guys. It was at a Pay-per-view and and they were beating up on the good guys that you love, and here comes Hulk Hogan in the yellow and red and he’s the hero. “The Hulk’s gonna get ‘em! The good guy’s here!” And then the Hulk just leg drops Randy Savage. That was the original Red Wedding. I just think about the boldness of turning him heel. To a little kid... I wasn’t even like a massive Hulk fan, but he was just such a mythological figure. What a chance that Hulk Hogan took as a performer, as a bankable kind of movie star at that point. That was bold, risky storytelling and it set off two years of amazing storytelling with Hogan just playing a craven, cowardly heel and just being so evil. I really respect the hell out of them for doing that. That was a great storyline.